Sing Me To Sleep
by wicked-nachos-09
Summary: The events following Emily's return from the dead, including JJ's,, Henry's and the BAU teams's reactions. Sequel to Late Night Rendezvouz. Makes a bit more sense to read that one first.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so this is the first chapter of the sequel to Late Night Rendezvouz. Just want to say thanks to my beta igorellis for helping me get this finished. It ends a little abruptly before they really get anywhere so my readers can fill in the blanks themselves.

PG for a little bit of action, swearing for later chapters

Summary:

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><p>There was an eerie silence filling the kitchen. The moment the two women had stepped into the room, JJ had pushed Emily away and distanced herself to the other side of the centre island. While the brunette wanted nothing more than to run around the bench and wrap her arms around JJ, planning to never let go, she could tell that her sudden reappearance had spooked the younger woman. She decided to stay where she was. JJ didn't want to let the brunette out of her sight but at the moment she couldn't stand to look at her. Letting go of Emily was something JJ vowed to never do twice.<p>

Her hands were planted against the edge of the sink, her posture full of surrender. When her eyes immediately found the subtle diamond ring sitting on her left ring finger, she slowly followed Emily into the lounge. Behind her, JJ could hear Emily stripping herself of her heavy wool coat now that they were inside, and shuffling around to try and heat the house up. A few minutes later she could hear the blonde hesitantly follow her into the lounge. The first thing she noticed about JJ was that she had turned to face Emily but closed herself off by folding her arms tightly across her chest. The look on her face almost made Emily want to run and hide, but she was determined to fight for her old life.

For some reason she felt like she had been caught snooping around another person's house when she was looking at the photos on the walls and bookshelves. She wished she didn't feel like this. "Say something. Please."

JJ wasn't sure if she would be able to say anything without letting another choked sob out. Her brow furrowed as she tried to take a breath and calm herself. If she didn't say anything now, she never would. And that would make things awfully difficult when it came time to explain Emily's return from the dead to the rest of the team and FBI. "I'm so confused right now."

"Confused about what?" Emily inched forward and instantly knew that JJ had caught on to what she was doing. The only thing she wanted to do was to hold the blonde and never let go. JJ remained silent for so long that Emily was able to reach the other side of the couch without her flinching away.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to feel, or do. It feels like keeping this secret for so long...from the team, from Henry...it's like it's nearly broken me. I want to feel happy that you're home, but I can't because I think I should be mad and hate you even though I let you go, I let you walk away. Then I just want to hold you and kiss you and tell you that I love you. I just..." She broke off as Emily's hand came up to cup her cheek. The brunette was just thankful that she didn't flinch, but did the opposite and leaned into the touch. "I don't know."

They were silent again for a few moments, but the vibe in the room had change. It was no longer awkward.

"Everything you just said," Emily started. Her thumb began stroking back and forth across the blonde's cheek. "That tells me that you care. You can hate me if you want. I wouldn't blame you. But to do that you have to think and feel about why you would hate me. You wouldn't think about it if you didn't care. It's just who you are Jennifer. It's one of those qualities that I love about you."

JJ's eyes slid shut for the briefest moment as Emily gave into her cravings, and the blonde's hands slid up the strong arms to the brunette's neck. She was trapped against the back of the couch. The hands on her hips felt too light to be genuine, the pale skin beneath her fingers too soft to be the real thing, the body leaning against hers too warm and solid to not be a figment of her imagination. It was all too good to be true. She was convinced it was a dream, and if she opened her eyes now Emily wouldn't be there.

"You're wearing the ring." Emily had noticed the jewellery piece when JJ's hands had brushed up her arms, a tiny glare reflecting off of the diamond giving away its position.

"I never take it off," JJ admitted, sinking further into the embrace. It was true. She had never taken it off since she slid it down her finger the morning of Emily's funeral. She had needed something from the brunette with her; otherwise she wouldn't have been able to make it through the day. Emily let a sad smile grace her lips.

"Baby, open your eyes. I want to see those beautiful blue eyes of yours." If JJ opened her eyes, Emily would be able to see into her very soul and then be able to assess just how much damage her death and secret existence had caused for the woman she loved.

"No," came out as a broken whisper. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"If I open my eyes, you won't be here."

"Jayje, I'm not going anywhere. I promise you."

"Prove it."

"I can't. Not unless you open those gorgeous eyes." There was a spark in the electric blue eyes as JJ's eyelids slid open and took in the appearance of Emily standing in front of her with her hands still on JJ's hips, her body still pushing her onto the back of the couch. There was still pale skin underneath JJ's hands. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere."

There was a burning sensation across the muscles of JJ's lower back as one of Emily's hands snuck under the edge of her shirt, pulling her impossibly closer until their foreheads were touching. It was a feeling of comfort and one of familiarity for both women. A simple gesture spoke volumes of intimacy between them and JJ's eyes slid closed again as she took solace in Emily's arms. "I love you Em. So much it hurts."

"I love you too, Jennifer," Emily whispered, her breath tickling the shell of JJ's ear.

"I'm still mad at you though."

"I thought you were confused. Now I'm confused," the brunette admitted softly earning a quick chuckle from JJ. Even after faking her death and spending months apart, she still had the ability to make JJ laugh.

JJ turned serious quickly after a brief moment of Emily's comedy. "I'm confused about how to feel now that you're home. I'm mad at you for going rogue."

She looked away ashamed. Emily had had to remind herself every day since leaving JJ sitting at that cafe in Paris that she had left to protect them. If Doyle knew she was alive he wouldn't stop hunting her and his first targets would most likely be her BAU family. She had betrayed them by not filling them in, but she would do everything to keep him away from the ones she loved. Her death was the only way that would happen. Still, that didn't stop the tears welling up her eyes and the guilt squeezing her heart so hard that it felt like she was going to die.

JJ could feel her pulling away again, physically and emotionally distancing herself from the blond; she couldn't lose Emily a second time. "Don't shut me out please. I need you here. With me."

"I'm not going anywhere. It's just going to take some time for me to open about it all. You probably know all of it anyways."

"We know Lauren's side of the story. We don't know Emily's side." There was a softness in JJ's eyes that was comforting to the brunette. That was enough encouragement for Emily to press her lips against JJ's, savouring the feeling and flavour she had missed so badly, and they began to fight for a gentle dominance. They had all the time in the world to relearn everything that had been pushed aside and forgotten about, yet craved at the same time.

Their quickly becoming heated make out session was cut short when JJ pulled back and let out deep yawn into Emily's shoulder. She was rubbing her eyes tiredly when Emily's hand gently forced her head back up so she could take a proper look at JJ. "You look so tired." A lone finger reached out to trace the dark circles under the blonde's eyes.

"That's because I am tired. I don't sleep very well anymore. Haven't been able to since you left."

"Jay, I'm sorry." JJ could hear the sincerity in Emily's voice, and see the truth in her eyes. In an instant, her heart forgave the woman standing in front of her. The whole experience of hiding as someone else, and hunting as an unsub would seemed to have a large impact on Emily as well. Doyle had fractured her. JJ would fix her. "I'm so sorry."

"I know you are, so you don't have to keep saying it." They were talking in whispers now. There was no need to speak loudly across the small space between them. A warm sensation settled in the pit of JJ's stomach as her body became hypersensitive to the slightest movement of Emily's hands. Her voice dropped several octaves, her hands shifting slightly to the hem of the thin grey sweater Emily was wearing. "But you can show me."

Without breaking eye contact, JJ pulled at the bottom of the material to lift it clear over Emily's head. She dropped it behind her on the couch. Emily could see a glint in JJ's eyes, full of need and sprinkled with humour. She immediately knew why.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," the brunette breathed out. She was referring to their first time together. After a late dinner, Emily had suggested a movie to relax and unwind from the stress of their last case. JJ had apparently had other plans because the next thing the brunette knew she was pinned against the back of the couch, JJ's tongue seeking entrance into her mouth.

"I don't think I mind, meeting you like this." JJ's first kiss was filled with raw desire and need. Her hands were gripping at the shirt covering Emily's shoulders, effectively pulling her into JJ. As their tongues battled and bodies grew closer, JJ began to unbutton the black material that was keeping her from reintroducing her hands with Emily's skin.

As the buttons popped open one after the other, Emily suddenly became rather self-conscious of the scar just above her left breast. Although it had faded, the bad representation of a four leaf clover was a constant reminder of the reason for their forced separation. Her shirt was hanging open, the blood red bra visible was contrasting perfectly to the pale skin. It was pushed from her shoulders to drop to a heap on the floor. When a cold finger traced the pink scar, Emily let out a gasp, only to suck another breath in when JJ's head bent and her tongue slid over the raised flesh.

"Not here. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right." Her fingers pulled the clip from JJ's hair, the blonde locks cascading over her shoulders. "This isn't going to be a quickie on the couch."

"I need you, Em. Now." JJ's breathing rate had spiked, along with her heart rate, as her hand flattened against Emily's taut stomach. It felt like her body was on fire from the simple gestures.

JJ could practically feel her body humming with anticipation as Emily began working on the white shirt she was wearing. "Upstairs. I'm not doing this on the couch, Jen," Emily stressed, pulling the blonde into another searing kiss. She began walking backwards, her fingers linked in the loops of JJ's slacks, directing them towards the stairs. "I'm going to make love to you."

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><p>What did you think? Please be gentle.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Okay so I have had an unbelieveable amount of story alerts come in for this. I hope this is up to your expectations and hopefully explains my view a little bit better. Next chapter: Henry comes home.

Thank you so much for the reviews and if you read, please review. I would love to know what you thought of the chapter and what you would like to see in future chapters. It helps alot. :)

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><p><em>The US Marshall that would be responsible for the Jane Doe once known as Emily Prentiss, muttered a few words to JJ. She nodded mutely in understanding. Unable to look the man in the eyes, her gaze drifted to that doors that leads to the lounge the BAU team was waiting in. This was going to break their hearts. It was going to break her heart, but it was going to happen whether or not she liked it. After whispering a 'thanks' to the Marshall, JJ turned on her heel and inched towards the operating theatre Emily was in.<em>

_She had been in the theatre for going on eight hours. The entire team was restless in the waiting room but as JJ pushed open the door to the operating theatre quietly, any thoughts of the team were pushed to the back of her mind. She didn't want to disturb the woman resting on the table in the middle of the room. As she grew closer to Emily, she could see just how much damage Doyle had inflicted upon her lover. Her face was bruised but free of blood. JJ was close enough to hear Emily's raspy voice break when she tried to speak._

"_There's a small box... in the top drawer of my bedside table." Emily's eyes shut tightly for a moment as a brief wave of pain shot through her. The pain medication the doctors had administered after her surgery was getting her high, rather than easing the pain that had settled across her stomach. "I was going to...give it to you on our anniversary."_

"_Oh, Em." JJ was nearly crying but she had to stay strong._

"_What are you g-going to tell them?"_

_JJ knew exactly what she was talking about. A few minutes earlier, the US Marshall had explained the protocol they would follow to safely enter Emily into an international witness protection program. Little did the Marshall know, the moment she was fully healed, the Pentagon was going to send her after Doyle. "You died on the operating table. Emily Prentiss is dead to the world."_

"_Not to you."_

"_No. You'll never be dead to me." She smiled sadly, before standing to kiss Emily gently on the lips one last time. "I'll wait for you. Come home to me Emily."_

_With her jaw clenched, JJ reluctantly turned her back to Emily and walked out of the theatre. She couldn't let Emily see her break down; otherwise the Ambassador's daughter would raise hell in an effort to fight the protection order. She found the nearest bathroom and locked herself in, sliding to the floor as the tears began to fall uncontrollably. The blonde's body shook as she struggled to get herself under control. She had to go out there and lie to the people she loved. The same people who loved Emily, and would be feel betrayed if they ever found out._

_JJ had never felt so guilty._

_A nurse knocked on the door a few minutes later, and JJ forced herself to get up off the ground. She examined her blotchy cheeks in the mirror, flattening her hair just a little, wiping away the running mascara. If she didn't look the part, one of them would pick her lie. On wobbly feet, JJ headed out to the visitor's lounge. Her eyes were still swimming with tears as she took in the forms of her friends. They all looked hopeful._

_Her voice was shaky when she spoke. "She never made it off the table."_

JJ's eyes snapped open. Garcia's cries were still echoing in her ears as her eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness of her bedroom. She couldn't remember closing her curtains. They were heavy enough to block out the sun on the brightest summer day. Rubbing her eyes, the red lights of her alarm clock read six-thirty-nine. It was still early, but she had gotten more sleep last night than she had averaged a night in the last nine months.

A chill ripped though her and she finally realised the she was naked between her bed sheets. Memories flooded JJ's mind from the night before. Emily had come home last night. Emily wasn't in the bed. JJ was alone.

"Em?" The house stood still. "Emily?"

The blonde sat up, her bare feet sinking into the carpeted floor as she wrapped the sheet tightly around her body. There was no way last night had been a hallucination; it was _way_ too vivid. JJ could still feel a faint throbbing between her legs. Muscles that she hadn't used in so long ached in protest as she shuffled out of her room, checking her ensuite as she went. Emily wasn't in the bathroom. Panic flooded her body like ice water filling her lungs.

She shivered in an attempt to stay warm in the thin sheet. JJ looked towards the stairs and strained her ears. There was no one downstairs. There was a creak up the hall. Her head flicked around so fast she feared it would come off. Henry's night light was on and casting a soft glow through the doorway onto the floorboards.

JJ's basic FBI training kicked in, despite her inappropriate attire and inability to fight hand to hand without revealing her naked body. Her head popped out from behind the wall, her eyes doing a quick survey of the room. In the corner by the window was the rocking chair JJ used to put Henry to sleep. Emily was sitting calmly in the chair, swaying back and forth softly with a gentle creak every so often. "Emily?" She spoke softly but soundly.

The brunette turned to face JJ from her chair, a smile on her lips. "Good morning."

"You can't do that!" JJ huffed, angry and relieved at the same time. She padded into the room and admired the comforting naturalness of the scene before her. It would be complete once Henry was home. Emily met her gaze with a questioning look. "I woke up and you weren't there. I thought...you..."

"Aww, Jayje." Emily stood from the chair in her oversized Yale sweatshirt and pyjama pants to take the shivering blonde in her arms. There was a brief kiss shared between them before Emily explained her intentions. "I didn't mean too. You were sleeping and you said you were tired. I just wanted to see Henry. When is he coming home? I missed him."

"I love it when you say that," said JJ.

"Say what?"

"Home."

"So when is he coming _home_?" Emily grinned cheekily

"How did you know he wasn't here?" JJ paused for a moment, and then scoffed. Emily smiled. "Oh that's right! You're a profiler. He's with Will for an early Christmas with his dad, cause he has to work the holidays. He'll be home tomorrow." Emily was listening quietly, almost jealously at the time Will was having with the little boy. However she felt guilty because they were father and son. Will had every right to see his son and want to spend time with him. "I just needed some time alone after I found out Doyle was dead."

Emily nodded in understanding and tightened her grip on JJ. The blonde snuggled into the warm worn material of the sweatshirt. It was laced with Emily's scent and it was as if the reappearance of the other woman guaranteed a positive future. Even if the road to get there was slightly bumpy.

"Henry wouldn't go to sleep without you," JJ whispered. Emily moved to pull back from the embrace to look at JJ. "It was your thing with him. You were the one who would rock him to sleep or read him a story. And then you were gone and it was like nothing would settle him. Not a bottle, or the rocking chair, or one of Garcia's stories. It got to the point where I would sit with him in the rocking chair with a photo of you and it would take him half an hour to close his eyes. He missed you so much."

Emily listened as her lover explained the impact her absence had had on the little boy, and by proxy, JJ. It broke her heart to know that even at two years old, Henry knew something was wrong, that someone was missing. He was a smart kid. She quickly dropped a kiss to the crown of JJ's head and let go to wipe her eyes before her lover would notice the tears. She walked to the multicoloured dresser and pulled a picture frame from the top. It was the three of them at Garcia's. Henry's attention was directed at Emily's new necklace and JJ was to the side smiling at them, a hand reaching across to tickle her son's stomach. She began to answer one of JJ's silent questions about her time away.

"When I was away, the only thing I really wanted was to hear your voice." Her gaze drifted up to see JJ in the glow of the night light as tears shimmered in her eyes. "It was the only reason I broke cover: to call you. I needed to be reminded why I was doing it, why I was..._hunting_...him. If he knew I was alive, Henry would have been the first target. I took Declan from him; he would take Henry from me. And then he would take you. I had to keep you guys safe. It was the thought of you two that kept me going."

Emily's eyes traced over the image from her birthday dinner with their tech Goddess. The two people in the picture were her whole world. She would quit her job in a heartbeat if it meant she could keep them happy and healthy for just a little while longer. JJ stood quietly in the bed sheets as Emily poured her heart out. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

"At first, it was easy to act like Doyle. I had new identities, I could be whoever I wanted, or needed to be. I practically turned into him. And then after a while I just needed to be Emily. I needed you because you make me...me. I bought you that ring and as cliché as it sounds, my life was complete whether or not you said yes. JJ, you have a hold on me that I'm glad you have, but being out there I couldn't stand to be away from it." The tender emotions in Emily's voice were so raw that JJ wasn't sure how to respond. She had never seen the woman she loved so broken. "So I caved and called. Took me four tries before I actually let it ring through the first time."

JJ edged forward and let her hand catch Emily's elbow. The brunette jumped at the contact and her face changed; the walls JJ had worked so hard to get over, under and around were back up.

"Emily, I know it wasn't easy to behave in a way that scares you, but you kept us safe. He's never going to hurt us again. I have a rough idea about what it means to do whatever you have to do in order to protect your family. You did what you had to do to protect us. We are here with you." JJ finally came to stand beside Emily, the hand that wasn't keeping the sheet to her body was gripping Emily's elbow as a reminder.

Eventually, after minutes of silence, JJ pulled the woman to her and let her forehead rest against the brunette's cheek. "We're here, Emily. You're not alone anymore."

"I know. I know." Emily's voice went quiet and the only sound that could be heard in Henry's bedroom was the small clatter of a picture frame being replaced onto the dresser top. Once the frame was back in its place, Emily had JJ in another hug. This was something she would never get tired of. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

With one hand holding the sheet and the other over Emily's shoulders, JJ was comfortably pressed into the woman. She let out a gentle groan when lips were against _the_ spot just behind her ear. "So it wouldn't have mattered whether or not I said yes, huh?"

"_It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." _Emily quoted with a proud smile. "I'd rather have you even just for a little while like this, than to never be able to hold you or kiss you or make to love to you."

"I'm pretty sure that you said the opposite just before we got together. _'I'd rather have you as a friend, if it meant I got to keep you in my life. If being with you, risked me losing you, I couldn't do it.'_" JJ had quoted Emily word-for-word from a conversation that was two years old. Still, Emily wasn't shocked that the blonde had remembered that; it had been the night of their first kiss.

"That was before we got together, and if I remember correctly, you kissed me about ten seconds later." Emily began walking them out of Henry's bedroom. She had a feeling they were going to end up horizontal soon and she didn't want that to happen on the floor of his room.

"Yeah, and then I spent three weeks chasing you because you didn't believe that this could work." Emily had been rather skilful at avoiding the blonde in those three weeks. But after a rather hard case, Emily gave up fighting JJ about a relationship and ended up in her bed that night.

"You know, you still haven't answered my question."

JJ let out a sheepish grin and snapped the switch to Henry's night light. "That's because you never asked. You just told me there was a box in your bedside table drawer."

"You're wearing the ring."

"That doesn't mean I said yes. What if I was just wearing it to remember you by? And now that you're home, I can take it off?" JJ studied the ring momentarily.

"Jennifer Jareau?" Emily's arms around her waist tightened and lifted her slightly off the floor of the hallway as she asked. Their faces were millimetres apart.

"Yes, Emily Prentiss?"

"Is that a hickey?" JJ let out a strong laugh, the first one in months.

"Most likely."

All jokes were gone and they were left standing in a deafening silence in the middle of the hallway, arms around each other and only one of them clothed with actual garments. Emily's voice was all but a whisper when she spoke, and even though JJ knew it was coming, it didn't stop her from letting out a soft gasp.

"Will you marry me?"

The widest smile Emily had ever seen grace JJ's face, came into view. The blonde nodded slowly in controlled movements. She had to control herself to stop from squealing her excitement. Her own voice was a whisper higher than Emily's when she finally verbalised her answer. "Yes."

It was a deliberately slow kiss in celebration as JJ was directed to the closest wall so Emily's hands could begin to wander again. The brunette let her fiancé take the lead in the dance they were involved in. She was just happy that JJ had said yes. Out loud and to her face. Emily's hand was drifting across JJ's caramel coloured, sheet covered ribs when a thought came to her mind.

"You're still very much naked under that sheet, aren't you?"

JJ simply nodded and pulled Emily into another kiss. "And you're wearing too many clothes."

She could only smile as JJ practically dragged her back to _their_ bedroom.

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><p>"I can't believe I missed his birthday, he's growing up so fast. I wanted to be home before that." Emily sighed sadly as she flicked through the abundance of photos from Henry's third birthday party. She and JJ were sitting at the bench in the kitchen with some coffee and toast, having spent the morning in bed with their attention focussed only on each other. They had only gotten up a little before midday when JJ's stomach had rumbled for some sustenance other than Emily. JJ's hand ran soothingly across Emily's back as the photos showed everyone but the brunette. Henry was smiling giddily as he ripped and tore the wrapping off of his presents.<p>

"I don't care what the Pentagon or Interpol says, you will be here for Christmas. He can have you for Christmas." JJ winked and kissed her fiancé. It was a moment before several thoughts entered JJ's mind. "Shit! I still have to wrap his presents before he gets home. And put the tree up."

Emily giggled at JJ's worries. She had done the same thing the year before and nearly forgot to wrap his presents until Garcia picked him up for the day, making some insinuations as the pair left the house. Downing her coffee, she suggested that they wrap Henry's presents first and then put the tree up. That way the biggest problem would be fixed first. "Well then, we better get wrapping then hadn't we?"

JJ's heart fluttered at how easily Emily resumed her role within their family and household. "What would I do without you?"

"That's a good question. What did you do without me?" Emily smirked gently and folded her arms. It was a soft challenge with an intention of trying to get JJ to open up about the last nine months.

"Wither and die," the blonde answered sarcastically. She piled the plates and grabbed the empty mugs to rinse and put in the dishwasher. She had easily sidestepped the second meaning of the question; her years of dealing with the media and having to avoid certain nosy questions giving her a well-versed ability. "The wrapping paper is still in the third bedroom." With one last chaste kiss, JJ was gone, the sound of her footsteps fading as she padded up the stairs.

Moments later, she followed but didn't stop at the master bedroom. The third bedroom was the one just passed Henry's, and it was full of stuff neither of them needed or used very often. The wrapping paper was sitting in a corner next to a brown box labelled _'Christmas Tree Decorations'_. As Emily looked forward to enjoying the mundane task of wrapping presents, she found herself distracted when the label on a packing box stood out. _'Emily'_. There had never been a box with her name on it; she and JJ had emptied them all when she moved in. Opening it, Emily received a shock.

It seemed as if every photo that had Emily in it had been pulled from the walls of the house and put into either Henry's room or this box. They were stacked in no particular order, but rather clumped into piles based on which room they had come from. She didn't want it to, but her mind automatically switched into its profiler psyche. Questions where running through her head a million miles a minute: why were they in a box? When did JJ take them down? JJ was already downstairs, calling for her to hurry up. Emily quickly re-packed the box and snatched up several rolls of paper and tape before running downstairs.

On the floor of the living room were piles of toys and clothes. All for Henry from Santa. Emily nearly tripped over a Tonka truck because she was too busy taking in the bare walls of room. Whatever photos including Emily that had been hanging from hooks or sitting on top of the TV unit were gone, replaced with random ornaments, other photos of family and friends or pieces of Henry's art from kindergarten.

"You okay, Em? You've gone quiet on me." JJ had noticed the concentrated look on Emily's face, her dark eyes flittering around the room. The profiler put the items she was holding onto one of the lower steps and started a closer inspection of the images. "Emily."

"Where are the other photos?" she asked softly. After, all she was only curious. There was no attack in her words or body language. She just wanted to know why.

"Which ones?"

"You can't lie to a profiler. More importantly, _you_ can't lie to _me_."

"I took them down after Paris."

"Jayje."

"It was too hard to try and keep that secret at work and with them, and still have to stare at you when I was at home. It was like I was being mocked, tested, to see if I could hold my own, if I could keep my mouth shut. It was easy because I didn't have to see the team every day. And then the next thing I knew, I was back at the BAU. Back to seeing them every day. It was too hard, so I took them all down." JJ dropped onto the couch, her shoulders sagging with defeat. "When I would go to sleep, even in my dreams I knew I was going to wake to an empty bed. I couldn't face your side of the bed. I would fall asleep and wake up in the same position. Some days I just wanted to forget that you ever existed, because it meant that my heart would stop aching. I guess it was me being angry with you."

Emily looked at JJ sympathetically, unsure what to say. It seemed to be a day of explanations followed by silence, because neither of them had the right words to make it all okay. She lowered herself to the couch gingerly to sit next to the blonde and listen to her try to get some of it off of her chest. JJ's voice had gone soft and quiet, but as she continued with her attempt at explaining her feelings, she began to get louder.

"I know it sounds bad, but if I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have fallen in love with you and then everything that happened leading up to this whole mess never would have happened. If you hadn't gone undercover to get him in the first place, it wouldn't have happened. If he had been arrested and you never went under, I would still have you. Your family would still have you." Emily opened her mouth to speak but was stopped before she could even get a word out. "And don't say you're sorry. It happened and you did your part to try and fix it."

"You've been hanging out with profilers too long, Jen." The small attempt at a joke got Emily the tiniest smile that was a complete opposite to the one she had received earlier that morning. JJ took a deep breath and went on before Emily could say anything.

"You know, your service photo is hanging on the wall of fallen FBI agents killed in action. Despite the fact that you went rogue." She paused, wondering if she should mention the struggle Garcia had had after Emily's death. JJ suddenly found her fingers intertwined with Emily's. "Since that picture went up, Garcia spends ten minutes when she comes in and ten minutes before she leaves staring at it. Hell, she comes in on her day off."

Emily looked away guiltily before asking her next question with a constricted throat. "How did they take it?"

"I don't think you want to-"

"How, JJ?" It came out a little more forced than she intended but it gave her the answers she was looking for.

"Hotch and I struggled at first, but it was more the secret than your death. Rossi accepted it first though. He understands that loss is a part of life, but it feels like he lost the daughter he never had. Ashley had it a little harder. You were mentoring her, teaching her and the next minute you were gone. She felt like she didn't know you well enough to mourn you, but the shock was still there." After a pointed look from Emily, JJ finally moved on to the last three members of the team.

"Reid shut everyone out because he thinks the rest of us don't know about his headaches. He chose to talk to you and his confidant was gone. You were helping him somehow. Garcia cried. A lot. She lost her parents when she was younger so she understands what it feels like to lose someone, but it still makes an impact. That's why she stares at the photo every day."

"And Derek?" It was Morgan that Emily was most concerned about. He had been there when she had been stabbed, begging her to hang on while screaming for a medic.

"Three-day drinking bender after the funeral. He ended up crashing on Garcia's couch and he broke down. He can't stop seeing you lying there. He has nightmares most nights. Hotch pushed for him to go to grief counselling more than the rest of the team, after he did the assessments. Something to do with survivor's guilt."

Emily stood abruptly and began to pace the full length of the room. JJ could only watch as the woman she loved started to panic, mumbling as she walked back and forth, new thoughts coming in her mind every second.

"Jen, they're going to hate me."

"Emily, they could never hate you."

"They think I'm dead! They're going to hate me for lying to them."

JJ stood and took Emily by the elbows, pausing her in her pacing. "They could never hate you. They're going to feel betrayed, yes, and they'll be pissed as hell, yes. They will never hate you no matter what you do. They will forgive you, Emily. Family means everything and they'll get over it. It may take a while, but still." JJ's hands came up to cup Emily's face so she could keep her gaze.

"They'll be pissed as hell at you too." JJ shrugged, non-committed to the gesture.

"They were not the only ones to lose somebody that day. I lost you too. The only difference was that I knew you were alive. I still lost you. Emily, you will not be alone when you have to face them. I will be there, and so will Hotch, and they will understand eventually. It's going to be okay."

"Forgiven, but not forgotten?"

JJ nodded softly. "Something like that." She pressed her lips to Emily's briefly. The kiss was returned gently, but it didn't feel like the thousands of kisses they had previously shared. It was slightly subdued.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to know."

"What did I tell you about apologising?"

Emily looked at her curiously and then gave up. "Ummm, you didn't tell me anything."

"I did. I told you to stop, last night. Remember?"

"Oh yeah," Emily said in a dazed tone. A grin formed on her face as the memories of the night before entered her mind. JJ slapped her softly on arm and laughed.

"Perv."

"Only on you."

Emily let JJ turn around in her arms and face the masses of toys adorning their living room floor. JJ leaned back into the embrace. "How much did you buy for him?"

"Apparently, this much. You should have seen what he got for his birthday. This is the left over stuff that he didn't get, and some of it's from my parents, and Will."

"Well, I guess we had better get wrapping then huh?" asked Emily. JJ accepted the answer and the obvious change of conversational topic between the two of them.

Her heart was still heavy, even after the reassurances JJ had given her. As a small wave of nervousness settled in her stomach, she and JJ settled themselves between the toys and separated them based on who they were from. Emily even had her name written on a few tags. Her worry was beginning to ease. It was pretty much gone after JJ had pinned her to the floor.

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><p>Well? Thanks for reading. New chapter in a few days.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

So thanks for the reviews, and here's the next chapter! It took me a little longer than expected. I got distracted watching Grey's Anatomy.

Enjoy, and don't forget to read and review.

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><p>"I don't want her around my son if she is in danger!"<p>

The anger was evident on Will's face, and JJ couldn't blame him. Nine months before, JJ had explained that Emily had been killed by the leader of an IRA faction in an act of revenge after being tortured. Just like the rest of the world, he believed the lie she had fed him.

"She wouldn't have come back if she was still being targeted."

It had only taken seconds for Will to notice something was off about JJ as he stepped into the house after bringing Henry home. It had taken a few minutes for him to actually ask what was wrong, and JJ apologized profusely for lying and jumped right into an explanation of the basics of the whole situation. He didn't have clearance, so she couldn't tell him everything; just that Emily was alive and had been in a witness protection program for the last nine months. Now she was home.

In an expected fashion, his mind had quickly jumped to Henry's safety. He had argued that Henry should move down to New Orleans with him to try and protect the three year old. JJ had refused, saying that if the man responsible for forcing Emily into hiding was actually alive, moving Henry wouldn't do much to protect the little boy. Will had snapped and cursed Emily for coming into their lives. He scared his son. Henry was now clinging to the back of JJ's jeans, hiding fearfully from his father as he yelled.

"I don't trust her, JJ."

"You've never trusted her remember? You blamed her for breaking us up, when you knew that we only staying together for Henry. She never would have come home if she wasn't safe. Believe me, Will. Henry is safe. We're both safe."

"How am I supposed to believe that? Huh? You lied about her death in the first place."

"I had to!" JJ had finally yelled back after twenty minutes of trying to speak calmly. She could feel Henry jump behind her and tighten his grip on her leg. Her hand brushed through his dirty brown hair in an effort to calm him. If telling Will that Emily was alive was going this badly, she really didn't want to be there when the team found out. "I had to, Will. Can we stop yelling? We're scaring him."

Will looked down to see his son hugging JJ's leg, his little face buried in the denim of her jeans. He sighed soundly and rubbed his hands over his face before dropping onto the couch. He beckoned Henry over to him. The little boy hesitantly looked to his mother who nodded.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just a little angry." His hands settled on Henry's small shoulders. "It's not your fault though. Okay? You didn't do anything wrong, I promise."

JJ watched as father and son interacted. When she had opened the front door, Will had been carrying Henry in one arm, and his bag and two favourite toys in the other. Her son looked tired and grumpy, mostly likely from not getting enough sleep. JJ had kept the trick about getting Henry to sleep with a picture of Emily to herself, knowing full well that Will disliked the woman and wouldn't want her to intrude on their time together.

Henry nodded gently at the question. "Come here and give me a hug. I love you, Henry." Will looked pointedly over Henry's shoulder at JJ.

"I love you Daddy." Both adults could understand him, even though his words came out mumbled and mispronounced.

When they let go of each other, the blonde picked her son up and carried him to his own small fold out couch in front of the TV. "I need you to do me a big favour." He looked up eagerly, ready to help in any way he could. It was the same voice his mother used when she told him a big secret. "I need you to pick out the best TV show you can find, and sit here and watch it. Can you do that? If you can, I've got a big surprise for you later."

His little head bounced back and forth at the thought of a surprise. It took a few moments before his attention turned to the television. He was more focussed on the bright lights of the Christmas tree as they stood out against the dark leaves and bits of fake snow. When he seemed to have an answer whatever questions were floating around in his mind, he picked up the remote and leaned back on the couch to find his cartoons. When JJ was convinced that he was distracted, she motioned for Will to join her upstairs. In one of the rooms, at least Henry wouldn't be able to hear them yelling.

"What's this surprise you've got for him?" Will asked dejectedly. He was still seething about Emily being alive and returning to be a permanent fixture in his son's life. When JJ had first told him that she was dating the brunette, he had denied it. But after seeing them together, it was only grudgingly accepted. It still felt like Emily was taking his family away from him.

They had stopped outside of JJ's bedroom. The door was closed. JJ studied the man before her for a few moments before she spoke. He was sure to freak out more than he had downstairs. JJ was sure that Emily had heard them yelling; the door had been open slightly when she had left the woman in their bedroom. "This."

As he went to follow her in, he was stopped in the doorway at the sight of a very much alive Emily Prentiss leaning against the window pane, staring back at him. Sure, he had accepted that she was alive and coming back, but he hadn't thought that she was already here. Will clenched his jaw as Emily offered a small smile. He didn't mean much to her, but after a long talk with JJ, she had agreed to respect him at Henry's father, and not curse him as JJ's ex. They tolerated each other for the blonde's sake, nothing more.

"Hey, Will."

The New Orleans detective ignored her and rounded on JJ again. "You didn't tell me she was already here, JJ."

"Well, between you losing it and trying to keep Henry calm, I didn't really have the time. Again, I'm sorry." JJ stressed the last two words, but her tone was full of sarcasm.

"I can't believe this. You're just going to let her walk back into your life, into Henry's life."

"She never really left, Will. I'm not asking you to like it, but I am asking you to accept that Emily is here."

"Are you gonna do this often? Play happy family for a little while and then disappear for months at a time? Do you have any idea what that could do to my son?" With an accusing tone, Will had turned to Emily and begun an attack.

"No. I'm not. I love Henry and JJ. You know that. If I could've avoided all of this, I would have. I didn't want to leave, but I had to." Emily didn't want to get into a fight with Will but he needed to understand that what had happened, happened and there was nothing she could do to change the outcome. Going after Doyle had been her chance at getting her life back, and she won. She needed for him to see that. Her voice dropped to a whisper and JJ's heart clenched painfully as six words were repeated. "I needed to keep them safe."

"How is faking your death keeping them safe?"

JJ cut in. "Will, I told you. If he knew she was alive, he would have come after me and Henry to get to her. By thinking she was dead, Emily could go under the radar for as long as needed."

"And how do you know he won't come after you again?"

Emily's eyes glassed over, cold and void of emotion. "He's dead."

"Are you sure about that?" His confidence and cockiness almost made Emily want to laugh at him and punch him in the face at the same time.

"Yeah. I'm the one who killed him." Will was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't been expecting that answer. "I told you after not long Haley's died, I promised you, that I would do anything to protect them. I wasn't kidding. They're my family, Will."

Will thought back to that moment after Haley's funeral when Emily and JJ had come home. He had been watching the little boy for the day before moving back to New Orleans. JJ had gone straight to Henry's room to see her son the moment the door was open, and Emily headed to the kitchen to open some wine. The explanation of what had happened to Haley Hotchner made Will's blood boil, and on the spot he had made Emily promise to keep his most treasured possessions safe. Without hesitation, Emily had agreed. Three days later, he was back in New Orleans working as a detective.

"I'm not going anywhere this time."

Will nodded slowly, still processing the whole situation. It was obvious to both of them that he was sceptic about it. "What did you tell Henry?" he asked JJ.

"I told him that Emily had to go away for work. It wasn't a complete lie." JJ shrugged effortlessly.

"And what if your past comes back to bite you in the arse again?"

"I would do it all over again if it meant that they wouldn't be harmed."

There was a change in his eyes and his body language. He wasn't as hostile as he had been minutes before. "I'm still pissed at you for dumping them like that. Henry's young and impressionable. I don't want him to grow up thinking that the people he loves are just going to dump him when things get tough."

"I know. And he won't. I'm not going anywhere this time."

"Alright." His voice was quiet and full of acceptance. With a quick look to his watch, Will realised the time. "I'm going to miss my flight back. I gotta go."

He turned on his heel and left the room, but not before offering Emily a hand to shake and JJ a gentle hug. They could hear him saying goodbye to Henry downstairs as they slowly followed, wanting to give him a few more minutes with his son. Emily stopped to sit halfway on the stairs as JJ saw him out. From her position, she could see where Henry's soft brown hair had been ruffled by Will. His attention was focused solely on the television as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cracked jokes and picked on each other.

JJ padded back into the room and smiled through the gaps in the banister railings at Emily. The brunette was sitting high enough up the stairs so she wouldn't be spotted immediately, but she would have been seen if whoever was looking knew she was sitting there. JJ's socked feet became almost silent as she climbed the carpeted stairs to sit next to her fiancé, her hand coming to rest on Emily's thigh. Thankfully, Henry was too wrapped up in his cartoons to notice his mother's behaviour, or that there was another person in the house.

"Will's not going to say anything to anyone. He understands that whole situation is sensitive at the moment." JJ sighed. She hoped that the team would be as easy to handle as Will had been. But deep down, both women knew that the five team members yet to find out would blow up at the two of them and Hotch when everything came to the surface. Emily simply nodded, focussed on Henry.

"He's grown so much." Emily spoke in a whisper. Even though he had his back to her, she could already see a difference. He sat just a little straighter, his hair was just a little more unruly. He had always been a quiet and calm child with wide, inquisitive eyes, who had always tried to understand things more than to simply have fun with them. JJ had found that he rarely cried as a baby and had begun to sleep through the night earlier than most children would. He was definitely special.

"So has his love for his Emmy."

"Something along the lines of 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'?"

"Something like that. You ready to be reintroduced?" JJ smiled at Emily. She had never seen her so nervous when it came to Henry. Her relationship with the little boy had simply come naturally for her; JJ didn't know how she got so lucky. Emily nodded slowly and felt JJ's lips near her ear. "It'll be fine. He'll be too excited about anything else."

"He's a smart kid. What if he's angry or something? About me leaving." Emily's brow furrowed at the thought as Henry rubbed his eyes tiredly and began to undo his Velcro shoes.

"Then we'll deal with it. He's three. I honestly think Henry will be way to happy that you're home to remember being angry at you for something."

"Reid knew most of the periodic table by the time he was three," joked Emily.

JJ let out a giggle at the joke which was probably more fact than fiction. "Baby, he'll be fine."

"Alright, let's do it." Emily settled back into the carpet of the stairs, accepted a kiss and watched as JJ headed down the stairs to talk to her son. She threw a wink back up to Emily when she reached the bottom.

"Hey buddy, can you turn the TV off for me?" JJ asked, as she sat in front of Henry Indian style with her back to the unit. Henry picked up the remote with two hands and clicked the power button. He shuffled forward to sit in her lap. "You ready for your surprise?"

"Yeah!" His face had a little grin on it.

"Do you remember when I told you Emmy had to go away?" He nodded sadly. "For work?"

"When Emmy comin' home? I miss her," he asked, nodding sadly. Henry's voice was as little as he was when he asked. He wanted her to rock him to sleep, and read him stories, take him to the park, and help him beat his mum at soccer.

"Would you be happy if I said she was coming home soon?"

"Yeah. When?" Henry bounced back and forth in JJ's lap, his eyes lit up with excitement and happiness at the simple thought of seeing Emily again. From her seat on the stairs, Emily could hear the little boy's quiet voice. All he had to do was turn around and he would see her sitting there, a smile on her face.

"Would you be happy if I said she was already home?" She held him close and stood up, settling him on her hip. Henry was now fidgeting, his head swivelling around to try and find her. JJ watched her son as she stopped at the bottom of the stairs. His neck craned to try and see into the kitchen, his mouth hanging open in a halfway yawn. For a moment, he thought his mother was lying, that Emily wasn't actually in the house and he sent a glare in her direction. JJ lifted her hand to his eye line and pointed towards the top of the stairs. "Up there."

"EMMY!" he yelled. Almost immediately after seeing the brunette sitting there, elbows on her knees and a smile on her face, Henry was fighting his mothers hold on him to get down. As soon as his little feet were on the floor, he couldn't scramble up the stairs fast enough to get into her arms. Emily's arms were wrapped around the little boy after he launched himself up the remaining two stairs. "Emmy!"

"Hey buddy. I missed you, so much." His little arms were around her neck tightly, squeezing as strongly as he could so she wouldn't leave again. JJ smiled at the view before her; Emily was nearly crying as her hands drifted up and down Henry's back. It was a scene that would never leave her memory. To Emily, this was the second best feeling in the world, having the boy in her arms again. it was only second to having JJ in her arms.

"I missed you Emmy," he said with a crooked grin into her shoulder.

With a kiss to his hairline, Emily pulled back to take in Henry's messy hair and strikingly familiar blue eyes. "Oh my, look how big you've grown!" Her hand tickled him and the most divine childlike giggle came from Henry.

"I had my birfday. I'm three now," he exclaimed, holding up three fingers.

"I know, I heard."

The smile on his face faltered momentarily as he remembered who had been there to watch him blow out the candles on his Superman cake, and rip the paper off of his presents. Emily hadn't been there. "You weren't there."

"I'm here now," she offered. It seemed to do the trick because the smile was plastered across his face again. He seemed to accept the answer and hugged her again. "I'm not going anywhere again, kiddo."

"Promise?"

"Pinkie promise." Emily smiled again, holding her pinkie finger out for Henry. He hooked his own finger around Emily's larger one and shook it around. He giggled again as _their_ handshake shook his whole body.

JJ watched silently from the bottom of the stairs, as she leant against the banister. It had been blatantly obvious to a two year old that Emily had just up and disappeared. She just hoped that he would be able to understand that Emily had to leave, not that she wanted too. She would never leave them willingly. Henry needed Emily just as much as JJ did. There was no way that JJ could tell Henry again that Emily wasn't coming for dinner and wasn't going to be there for his fourth birthday. They would have to make up for the time they missed together.

"Who wants pizza for dinner?"

Henry's head whipped around, like Christmas had come a week early. Emily had come home _and_ he got pizza for dinner.

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><p>"Come on, kiddo. Time for bed," said JJ.<p>

Henry was dressed in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pyjamas sitting ill out the pun Emily's lap on the couch recounting as much as he could from the time Emily had been gone. In no particular order, he explained his birthday, the new toys he had gotten, and the time he got to ride on his Uncle Derek's shoulders at Jack's soccer game. Emily had listened with her full attention. The only time she had stopped paying attention was when she shifted to let JJ settle in behind her. His hands had been flying around as he used them to mumble along in his stories.

Emily had thoroughly enjoyed being jumped on by Henry, despite being warned by his mother. It only added to the excitement of her return. And now the bubble that had surrounded them had been popped, as Emily moved forward so JJ could get out to pick Henry up. He protested at idea of being separated from his Emmy.

"Buddy, I already let you stay up past your bedtime. You gotta go to sleep." He decided it was time to pull out the puppy dog eyes. Emily thought he looked just like JJ when he pushed his bottom lip out. She made a whipping motion towards JJ when Henry wasn't watching. "Maybe Emily will read you a story. If you ask nicely."

"Please Emmy."

"I guess I could read you a story."

Henry struggled to get down from JJ's arms and tugged at Emily's hand, attempting to pull her off the couch and towards the stairs. "Come on. You can see my big boy bed!" Both women laughed at his antics. Emily simply grabbed him and threw him over her shoulder. JJ followed and held onto his hands as he pulled the most eager faces he hadn't pulled since Emily had last thrown him over her shoulder. Not even when Derek had thrown him so high he could touch the clouds. She was deliberately bouncing Henry on her shoulder.

When he was unceremoniously dropped onto his red, big boy, racing car bed, Henry immediately settled down. JJ went to tuck him in. "Mama, want Emmy to tuck me in." JJ paused and sent a look to Emily. She wasn't offended, she actually liked it.

"Gimme a kiss first," JJ prompted, leaning over her son. "I need my goodnight kiss first, otherwise I'm not going to be able to sleep. You know I can't sleep without it."

Henry smiled, showing off his few baby teeth, before leaning up to give his mother an Eskimo kiss, brushing their noses togother. "G'night, mama."

"G'night, buddy. I'll see you before I have to go to work. I love you."

"Love you, too." He looked up at her as he settled back into his pillow.

"Don't take too long," JJ whispered to Emily, pressing a kiss to her lips. She just nodded dumbly and winked at JJ.

"Alright, little man, what story do you want?" asked Emily, facing Henry with a questioning look. He had a pensive expression on his face as the adrenaline of the day wore off. No three-year-old should have a pensive look on their face. "Buddy, what is it?"

"Why did you go away?"

Emily didn't want to lie to him, but the question shook the walls of all the compartments she had built over the years. Of all the horrors she had seen with the BAU, being asked why she left by Henry was the hardest thing Emily Prentiss had ever faced.

"I had to...I had to go away for work. You know how me and your mama chase bad guys?" Henry nodded slowly as he processed what she was saying. "I had to chase a bad guy to protect you."

"You weren't at my birfday."

"I know, I'm sorry Henry. I wanted to be here. But I had to chase the bad guy."

"Where did you go? To the park?"

Emily chuckled at Henry. He was smart, but sometimes he was just like any other kid his age; he didn't quite understand some things. "A little bit further than the park. Over the ocean."

"Did you catch him? Did you protet us?"

"Yeah, little man. I got him and he can never hurt you or your mama."

"Why was mama sad?"

"Because I had to go away. She didn't want me to go."

"I didn't want you to go."

"I didn't want to leave either buddy. But I'm not going anywhere ever again. I made a pinkie promise and I can't break that," said Emily, offering him a smile. She brushed her hand through his hair as his eyelids grew heavier. "We have all day to play tomorrow while mama's at work, okay?"

"M'kay. G'night Emmy. I love you." Henry rolled over in the direction of his night light and promptly fell asleep.

"I love you too, Henry," she whispered. With one last kiss to his hair, Emily left the room in shock. She knew that he was attentive and receptive, but he had grown so much more intelligent in the time that she had been gone.

When Emily left his room and left the door open a crack, she spotted JJ leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. There was a gentle smile on her face which broke out into a full blown toothy grin. "Looks like you still got the touch."

Emily could only laugh. But within seconds her laugh had turned to a cry and moments after that tears were rolling down her cheeks. She was on the verge of an emotional breakdown with Henry sleeping in the room behind them. JJ let Emily collapse into her arms. She had figured that Henry's coming home would have had an impact on Emily, but she had clearly underestimated just how much as the sobs shook her body for several long moments.

For the morning and most of the afternoon, JJ had been able to keep Emily distracted in regards to Henry until the little boy had come home, using more bedroom based activities to hold her attention. When JJ had left Emily in the bedroom to meet Will downstairs, the brunette had been sitting hunched over with her leg bouncing nervously. When JJ had finally reintroduced Henry to the other woman, she could tell there was nowhere else she would have rather been. Now, after spending the day with the little boy and finally putting him to bed, JJ could see that Emily was full of guilt.

"Baby," whispered JJ.

"He thought I went to the park to catch the bad guy."

"That's an awfully long time to be playing on the swings," JJ joked. Emily chuckled through her sobs as they began to settle. Her face came out of hiding in JJ's shoulder, to rest her forehead against the side of the blondes head, a hand cupping her neck to keep her close. "You ready for bed?" Emily nodded and kept her grip on JJ as they headed back down the hall to their bedroom. "I'm just going to turn off the lights downstairs."

When JJ came back, there was a raw look in Emily's eyes that she couldn't ignore. The blonde had a sinking feeling that she was going to be exhausted at work the next day.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay so thanks for bearing with me and here is the prize for it. FYI, I had a great time on my holiday, thanks for the well-wishes. Also thanks for the reviews.

shax616, I'll do what I can, but I can't guarentee anything. alexandranyc01, hope this settles your withdrawals.

Just a quick explanation of this chapter. Every now and then, there will be a chapter in the POV of a different character to try and explain the story through their eyes. Other than that, every other chapter will be from third person POV. In this chapter, there are several flashbacks written in italics, so just be aware of that. Hopefully, it's not too hard to understand and it flows well.

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><p>JJ's POV<p>

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><p>I was desperate to get home. My car keys had been in my hand since I locked my office door. I thanked my years of training and motherhood to be able to juggle files, a travel mug, my bag and my coat on the elevator ride down to the garage, and all the while thinking about something that had nothing to do with what I was carrying. The doors 'ding' as they open, and it's like my mind is instantly transported back to this morning, when I left the house.<p>

"_I'm not going to come home to a three year old who has been left home alone all day because I'm having hallucinations about my girlfriend, right?" I asked, one hand on my hip and the other holding a travel mug._

"_I will be here. We will both be here. Now, go to work." Emily pressed her lips to mine and basically pushed me out the door with Henry in her arms._

As I quicken my pace up the slight ramp to my car, my car key digs into my hand painfully and I can't help but smile as the memory repeats through my mind. It helps to relieve some of the stress, but not much. With one hand, I aimlessly search for the unlock button on my set of keys. When the alarm beeps, it knocks the images of Emily and Henry waving goodbye from my mind, and all of the stress is back again. Impatiently, I screech out of the parking lot, stopping only to show my ID to the gate personnel. Within minutes I was speeding away from the FBI and towards home.

The day had been too long and the drive home was only making it longer. Traffic was backed up on the highway and I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to the events of my hectic time at work. As I finally reached the exit I needed, I began to sift through my thoughts, dividing them into categories; what I would need to talk to Emily about, the important stuff; and the normal day-to-day stuff, like a chat in the break room, a chance for a coffee. Garcia had pretty much cornered me in my office and asked why I was glowing. I was so close to slipping up.

_I got out of the elevator on the BAU floor with the six other people. Apparently the fourth floor was popular this morning. After adjusting the shoulder strap of my bag, I took a right down the hallway instead of going straight for the bullpen for a refill. I could see Morgan already there, getting his own. Even though nothing could break my spirit this morning, I didn't want to have to face him and his accusations. Seems like I should have come in earlier this morning, because Garcia was heading my way with her usual chirpy expression. Besides my three year old, she was the only person I knew who could be this cheery, this early._

"_Hey Jayje."_

"_Morning, Garcia," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. I kept walking, hoping she didn't notice. But no one can fool the all-knowing, all-seeing omniscient one._

"_Stop right there, Gumdrop!" She doubled back, and I paused in unlocking my office door. In typical Garcia fashion, she took one look at my face. "Why are you glowing?"_

_Instantly my back straightened and I knew she had already busted me. "I'm not glowing." Finally, the lock gave and I pushed my way into my office._

"_You are. My girl is glowing. Plus she looks exhausted. Did you get some last night?"_

_Thankfully my back was turned and she couldn't see me blushing, because I had immediately thought of Emily and everything we had done the night before. "I didn't _get_ any. Henry came home. It was nice to spend some time with him."_

"_You are so lying." There was a grin on her face._

_I had to force myself to steel over and become the State Department JJ they had all come to know and not so much like. I hated lying to them. Especially Garcia. I faced her as I took my seat. "No I'm not."_

"_Jayje, you can't hide anything from me?" she smiled._

"_I-," I paused. I had been about to say 'I hid Emily from you for over nine months.' I caved. "You're right, I can't hide anything."_

"_I knew it! So give me details." Garcia sat down and I felt so guilty. "This is a big step in moving on from Emily."_

"_And this conversation is now over. I have work to do. There is an unusually large pile of folders sitting on my desk."_

_She looked dejected and realised her mistake of mentioning my 'dead' girlfriend. "Jayje-"_

"_Garcia. Please," I was practically begging her to leave. My bubbly friend nodded and took my travel mug, offering to get me a refill. As soon as she was gone, my head was in my shaking hands. I spoke quietly to myself. "Please let this be over soon."_

Office buildings and University lecture halls melted away, turning into large houses with white picket fences and mini-vans in the driveway. Front yards and gardens were covered in snow, and footpaths and garden walkways had been shovelled by teenagers looking for some money over the weekend. Now I was on autopilot as I entered my neighbourhood, navigating the roads easily. My mind drifted away from the simple task of my familiar route.

Garcia hadn't been my only reminder of the brunette. Morgan was still on my back about why I didn't talk about Emily and who I had gotten some with when I went for a coffee in the break room. Then Strauss walked in with a more pissed off expression than I had ever seen. Unexpected meeting after meeting with Strauss and Hotch, and officials from the State Department; piles upon piles of folders and forms and reports, most of which had been blacked out. Now there was a chance Hotch and I were going to be facing disciplinary action for treason. Emily was definitely going to be reprimanded.

_It was moving on towards lunch and my back was starting to hurt from being hunched over all morning. I was getting rather hungry, having been shut in my office for most of the morning reading through file after file of horrific crime scenes, organising them in some kind of order for Hotch. I stood and stretched, and felt my back pop. I could see Garcia further down the hall, on the other side of the bullpen doors, staring at Emily's photograph yet again. I offered her a small smile and disappeared into the break room. Morgan followed me moments later._

"_So a little birdie told me you got your groove on last night," he smirked wiggling his eyebrows suggestively._

_I couldn't help but smile. It felt so natural to be joking about sex with Morgan. I remembered him giving Emily quite a bit of crap over a hickey one time. "Sure it wasn't a little technical analyst?"_

_He scoffed at me. "So it is true?"_

"_Yeah it's true," I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face._

"_So are you going to give me any details? What was her name? Wait, please don't tell me that it was Will."_

'_Emily,' I thought. "Hell no. Garcia didn't get any details, you are not getting any."_

"_Does this mean you're moving on from Emily?"_

_I scratched my head. He always had to be blunt with his questions. What was it with people thinking I was moving on? Oh yeah. They all think that she's dead. Fuck my life. "Nope."_

"_JJ, hanging on to her like this isn't healthy. Think about how this could affect Henry." His expression became one of worry. Mine became one of anger._

"_So grieving for my dead girlfriend isn't healthy?" I had to whisper that first part. No one outside of the team knew and it wasn't exactly allowed within the FBI. "No, Derek, you know what's not healthy? Keeping a growing folder on the man who killed her in your desk. You think that none of us know about it. You're more obsessed than it about I am-"_

"_Agent Jareau!" I turned away from him, the anger in my eyes fading, turning to fear. Strauss was standing in the doorway, holding one heavy glass door open. She sounded pissed. The Dragon Lady had reared its ugly head. "You and Agent Hotchner. My. Office. Now."_

_The entire bullpen was watching me watch Strauss as she walked away. Rossi's head came out from his office. Garcia was watching from where she had been standing. Hotch's blinds were open, and his door was ajar. I could see his pen drop and his head hang. He had heard Strauss's outburst. Maybe my spirit will break before the day is through._

I could see the living room lights on as I pulled into the driveway. It was late, maybe Henry would be asleep. A hyper three-year old was not something I was ready for, especially considering the conversation I had to have with Emily. It had seemed that when she had come back, the weight was lifted. Turns out that it was only temporary, now all of the weight was back on my shoulders.

I sighed heavily before pushing open my front door. I could hear the TV playing one of Henry's Transformers DVD's, and the soft thudding dishes in a sink full of hot water. My usual pile of files and my bag dropped to the dining table, my coat landing next to them. After taking my shoes off and leaving them by the table, I headed for the kitchen and found Emily hunched over the sink, wrist deep in hot water

"Well, well, someone might think that I've domesticated you," I joked, folding my arms and leaning against the doorway. She jumped slightly, unaware that I had even entered the house. "Since when do you the dishes?"

She sighed softly and chuckled. "In the words of Jennifer Jareau, 'it can be therapeutic'." I smiled. "Well, that and Henry and I made a mess today when he helped me make spaghetti for dinner."

My smile dropped and an eyebrow rose as I walked over to kiss her hello. "How much of a mess?" Emily pointed towards the roof with one soapy hand. She let the water drain as I tilted my head back to look up. In the corner, there was a piece noodle covered in sauce stuck to the ceiling. "Do I want to know how he did that?"

"Probably, but I don't have an answer for you. How was work?"

She dried her hands and they landed on my hips, pulling me closer for a hug. I mumbled into her shoulder. "Don't get me started."

"That good, huh?"

"It was the best day ever," I remarked sarcastically. "Where's Henry?"

"Asleep on the couch. He wanted his kiss from his mama before bed. And if he doesn't get it, he'll be very mad. I told him he could sleep on the couch till you got home."

I sighed and nodded. Emily's hands drifted up and down my back, trying to calm me. I was too comfortable, I didn't want to move. She hadn't lost the touch to put Henry to sleep, and she most definitely hadn't lost her ability to calm me down instantaneously.

"We need to have a talk," I whispered. For a brief second, I felt Emily tense and then relax again. I pulled back slightly to try and read her expression, but I was stopped by a pair of lips on mine, Emily's tongue requesting entrance into my mouth to seek out my tongue. I had been caught off guard so it didn't take long of her tongue on mine to leave me breathless, forcing me to pull back. I rested my forehead against hers. "And kissing me like that, will not get you out of it."

"Damn it!" She joked. "Okay. How about you put him to bed, and I'll reheat your dinner. You look hungry."

"Okay," I agreed, moving from her arms to the lounge.

I peered over the back of the three seater couch to see Henry there, fast asleep and oblivious to the rest of the world. My little boy was sprawled out on the couch, half-covered by his worn security blanket and a teddy bear at his side. Coming around the piece of furniture, I paused his DVD and brushed some hair from his face. "Henry, wake up little man. Hi."

"Mama," he said, sluggishly. His eyes were full of sleep and I could see a slight glare, at the thought of being woken up. He was worse than Emily on a day off.

"Hey, buddy." I picked him up, cradling him in my arms. Instinctively, he snuggled into me. I could see Emily poking her head through the doorway and smiling at us. I smiled back. Standing up, I adjusted him in my arms and began the process of walking up stairs to his room. "Let's get you to bed. Did you have fun with Emmy today?"

He nodded into my shoulder. I was whispering at this point, and Henry was pretty much asleep again. His night light was already on when I walked into his room, his covers pulled back too. It was obvious that he had conned Emily into letting him stay up. I smiled at him when he asked for his kiss. A quick Eskimo kiss and one to his forehead, and Henry was out like a light.

I had to get out of my skirt, so I closed Henry's door halfway and ducked into my bedroom seeking out a pair of sweats and some socks. I didn't bother changing my shirt. It was Emily's; one of my favourite. The moment I was changed, I was heading back downstairs. I found Emily relaxing on the couch in place of Henry, a hot bowl of spaghetti and a glass of wine sitting on the coffee table next to a handful of crayons and paper. I had to get those files before I sat down or I wouldn't get up to get them later.

I took my time retrieving the files from the dining room, mentally preparing myself for the conversation I was about to have with Emily. When I re-entered the lounge, the files in my hands, I could feel her watching me. Before dropping onto the couch, I lift her feet and place them in my lap once I was comfortable. "Tough day huh?"

"Oh yeah."

"Spill it," she demanded, her hand finding mine over her thigh. I reached for the wine glass and swallowed most of it in one gulp.

I took a deep breath and jumped into the explanation of the conversations I had with Garcia and Morgan earlier. As I described the event, I could see Emily becoming emotion at the thought of Morgan giving me a hard time, and researching Doyle. It wasn't his fight, not to mention the guy was dead.

"They're gonna be so pissed when they find out," she said. I looked up from my spaghetti, the fork halfway on its trip to my mouth.

"They'll get over it." I thought hard as I chewed my last bite of my dinner.

"So what is this talk we need to have?" Emily looked grim.

"I have a nine am meeting with Hotch, Strauss, the FBI Director, the Deputy Director, the Attorney General, the US Marshall who was responsible for you when you were recovering and two representatives from the State Department including my former superior, most of whom want an explanation. Or more like the FBI wants an explanation for why you went rogue and why your death was faked. The State Department reps are only going to be there to keep a lid on all the details."

"Okay, so I just...stay home with Henry tomorrow and wait for your call?"

I smiled at her hopefulness. "No. You don't get to play hooky with the kid tomorrow. You have to be there because it also involves your possible reinstatement into the FBI. If that is granted, and you'll probably be faced with disciplinary actions for going rogue, not to mention the psych eval's, and the marksmanship test, the physicals. On top of that, the team still has to be told, and I have no idea how we're going to manage that."

"All of this is happening tomorrow?" Emily asked, suddenly panicked. I couldn't blame her. If I was in her position I would probably be freaking out too. I don't think she had expected the confrontation with the team to be so soon.

"Yeah. Blame the Dragon Lady. She was pushing for it all to happen so fast. She got onto the director and now he's very curious. The State Department contacted her for a meeting, and then Hotch and I got cornered. She demanded to know why they were asking about you."

_I was sitting across from a very pissed off Erin Strauss, pretty close to pissing my pants. She could be scary when she wanted to be, especially since she had the power to fire us on the spot. Hotch was next to me with his usual stoic expression. We both knew what it was about. Emily's apparent death._

"_I have just received a call from Agent Jareau's former superior at the State Department. He has requested a meeting regarding Emily Prentiss." We both remained silent. I had to admit that even Hotch seemed a little scared. "Why are they asking about a dead agent?"_

_Hotch simply turned to me. "Have you talked to anyone at the State Department at it?"_

"_Yeah, my superior gave me a call on Saturday. Said I could explain the very basics when asked, but there would be a meeting sometime this week."_

"_Then you can answer her question."_

_I nodded. Strauss yelled. "What in the hell are you talking about?"_

"_Emily Prentiss isn't dead."_

_She had been leaning over her desk, looming over the two of sitting there as we discussed the issue right in front of her. When I put the whole situation simply, she was taken aback at my sudden confidence and had to take her seat. "What do you mean? She was buried with honour from the FBI."_

"_The body was a Jane Doe. A look-a-like. If you were to exhume the body, DNA wouldn't match."_

"_And exactly where has she been this entire time?" Strauss's eyes narrowed. I gulped._

"_I'm afraid that neither of us can tell you, ma'am. I was her case handler up until the point where I returned to the BAU. Even when I was with the State Department, it was completely dark. No contact." My mind strayed to the phone calls I had received. "I was told there would be a meeting sometime this week."_

_Strauss glared at us. "Nine am tomorrow. I have been told to tell you that, Agent Jareau, you need to make sure that _Miss_ Prentiss is there."_

_I sank in my seat momentarily. Hotch looked at me. He hadn't known that Emily had physically come back and was at my house. Apparently the State Department did, though._

"_Now get out of my office!"_

_We hurried out of the office, and Hotch brushed me off the moment we got the bullpen doors, before turning around angrily. He had been in on the whole thing from the beginning, struggled with the secret almost as much as I had._

"_Why did you tell me she was back? Did I not deserve to know?" he seethed. I had never seen Hotch this angry, not even when Haley had died._

"_Was it too much to ask to just have a few days with her? Before the shit really hit the fan?" I snapped back. Several people were looking. "If you could have Haley back for just a few days before you had to face reality, wouldn't you take it?"_

_He looked stunned and stood there in silence. He was still hard to read. Surprisingly, Hotch crossed his arms and nodded before heading back to his office. I fetched my now cold coffee from the break room and hid away in my office. The last time I had been called directly into Strauss's office was just before I left for the State Department. Garcia shot me a worried look through my window. I shut my blinds._

"On top of that, I was in an out of meetings for the rest of the day State Department officials going over some details. If the team wasn't suspicious before, they definitely are now." Emily was pacing as I finished recounting the day to her. Habit had kicked in, and she was fiddling with her fingernails. When she walked by me again, my hand snapped out and grabbed hers. She refused to meet my eyes as I looked up at her. I could tell what she was thinking. "Everything is going to be fine. It's all going to work out. Emily."

Her head finally snapped up to meet my gaze. "I'm screwed, Jay! I'm probably only going to get reinstated so the disciplinary action will stick. They can't punish a dead woman, not to mention charges against an FBI agent won't stick if said agent is now a civilian."

"They will understand. You just need to explain your side of the story, starting from the beginning and they will understand. The most that will happen is probably a demotion. Baby. It's going to be fine." I wasn't doing anything to calm her down. If anything, I was just making it worse. I stood up from my seat to take her head in my hands. "Emily, look at me. You did what you had to do. And the Attorney General backed you up. The State Department backed you up. They will understand."

"In Strauss's eyes I'm a traitor."

"Yes, that's true but she doesn't know the whole story. You were given what you needed to complete the job. Ian Doyle is no longer a threat to _anyone_."

Emily sunk from my arms to the couch defeated, her eyes focussing on her hands and the carpet. "How's it all going to happen?"

I dropped to my knees in front of her, reclaiming her hands. "Meeting tomorrow. Basically you just need to explain what happened. Then the Director will make the decision about your reinstatement. When you are, you'll have to face a disciplinary hearing to determine the charges and the appropriate actions. If you don't get fired," I tried to joke. There was a small smile. "Then comes the psych eval's, the physical, marksmanship test."

"What about the team?"

"Let's just see what happens tomorrow."

"I can sense a 'but' there."

I was hesitant to continue, but the longer we waited, the worse the explosion was going to be when we told them. "But, it would be better to tell them sooner rather than later now that you're home."

Neither of us spoke for a few minutes. The tension between us grew and Emily refused to meet my gaze until I lowered myself to find her deep brown eyes. "Emily, I'm not going to push you to tell them, but their reactions are only gonna be worse the longer we wait. They deserve to know. Hell, we still have to tell your parents."

"Okay," Emily snapped. I couldn't blame her. Almost instantly, she recoiled. "Sorry. Tomorrow. If we don't tell tomorrow, I'm not going to be able to."

"It's okay. I'll make sure we have the briefing room tomorrow afternoon. I don't know how long these meetings are gonna go. Baby, it's all going to over soon."

Emily finally looked up on her own. She had tears in her eyes and her chin was trembling. I had only ever seen her cry twice. When her friend Matthew had died. It was just after midnight and snowing outside when she knocked on my door, dried blood under her nose. She broke that night and told me everything. The second time was when I had to say goodbye to her in the hospital. I think it might have had more to do with the pain she was in, but she was still crying.

"I'm scared, Jay," she whispered.

I didn't know what to say, how to respond. The only thing I could do was raise myself to the couch and pull her into a warm hug. I lost track of how long we were sitting there on the couch, with my arms wrapped around her. At first I couldn't help but cry with Emily. When she hurt, I hurt. When she was happy, so was I. Right now Emily was scared.

"Me too."

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><p>Be easy please. I'm out of practice. Enjoy<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry about the wait, but here is the next chapter. I've created a sort of schedule between this fic and The High Life. I should be able to update a minimum of every two weeks. I'm sorry it isn't sooner, but I'm having a little writers block between the stories. I'll do what I can.

Hope this helps to explain the whole situation a little bit more. I'm sure that this is not how a situation like this or similar to the one Emily is in, would be taken care of in this manner, but this is how I wanted it to play out. I tried to make it as official as possible with the people involved.

OMG Emily just died! Sorry got sidetracked watching CM...

Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter. There will be similar chapters for each character, possibly or simply just hopping back and forth between Emily and JJ. Trust me, if I had my way, I would just have Emily shoot him. But I tried to make this realistic. Sorry! Thank you for the compliments! I love you too!

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><p>Emily's knee was bouncing up and down, elbows resting on top with, her fingernails in her mouth as she chewed on them out of nervousness. The brunette was hunched over in the cold hard plastic chair outside the Director's conference room. It was just past eight-thirty in the morning and Emily was acting like Henry when he was all hopped up on sugar. JJ was leaning back casually, equally as petrified of the meeting that was scheduled in half an hour. Her hand was sitting gently on Emily's lower back, her thumb tickling Emily's spine. The secretary would give the two of them off looks every now and them. The Doyle case file was sitting open in her lap, the details scribbled on the pages out of focus to JJ's eyes; she knew the information inside and out, backwards and forwards, even though she'd rather forget them.<p>

JJ could practically hear the scenario's running through Emily's mind, beating in time with the movements of JJ's thumb. Meeting the director was always a big deal, despite the fact that he was actually a rather nice man on the rare occasions that JJ had met him. You couldn't just rock up in jeans and a t-shirt when meeting with this man. JJ had practically had to dress Emily after her shower earlier when the brunette had rushed through her closet and come up empty and panicked. So here they sat next to each other in clean crisp suits, JJ in a skirt and Emily in pants. The only thing that made Emily stand out was the large red 'visitor's' badge hanging from her jacket pocket.

Emily's knee bouncing behaviour was halted when JJ's hand landed heavily on her leg, having snapped up from closing the folder in her lap. The blonde had turned the pages in the file to come across a photocopy of Emily's official death certificate. She was tempted to rip it up and burn it to ash, and it was only a copy.

"Emily," she whispered, leaning forward in her seat to catch Emily's eye. "I know the last thing you want to hear come out of my mouth is 'everything is going to be fine', or 'they will understand'. So I'm going to stop saying it. You've heard it enough, but I will say that you need to calm down. If you're not calm and rational, Strauss is going to eat you alive. And we both know that that job is mine and mine alone."

Emily managed to crack a small smile as her head turned slightly, taking in the gentle sight of JJ's professionalism. She sighed heavily and rubbed her hands over her face, leaning back in her seat and reaching blindly for JJ's hand. Their hands were clasped tightly. "And it will always be your job alone."

"What happened to the rational, compartmentalized Emily Prentiss I know? Hmmm?" JJ watched closely as Emily furrowed and unfurrowed her brow, pouted and then became steely faced.

"You've been hanging out with profilers too long."

"And you're avoiding the question," JJ retorted, squeezing her hand gently, her blue eyes twinkling.

There was another pause. "She's been dead for two hundred and eighty-nine days."

"Two hundred and eighty-_five_."

Emily raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

"You've been home for four days already," she corrected, offering a wink to her girlfriend.

JJ shifted her gaze past Emily and towards the doorway, down the hall outside the waiting area. Hotch was heading up the corridor, his usual brooding expression in place. When the glass door was pushed open, JJ stood from the seat, reluctantly letting go of Emily's hand to meet her boss halfway. The brunette kept her head down and began playing with the visitor's badge.

"Hey Hotch," JJ said, her arms crossing out of a natural habit.

He nodded a quick hello, eyes trained on Emily. He was hesitant to move over to her, to reintroduce himself to his friend. "How is she?"

JJ cast a quick glance over her shoulder. "She's scared. Not just about the meeting, but we were planning to talk to the team afterwards."

"That's understandable. I've gotten word that the Director has been in there with the Attorney General, State Department Officials, and the Deputy Director since just after eight. Something about certain details only being privy to higher ups. The US Marshall is also giving his statement."

JJ smiled at Hotch, and nodded in the direction of her girlfriend with a smile. "Go on."

Emily kept her head down as Hotch approached and was reluctant to raise her eyes, even when she heard her name called out. She finally looked up to see Hotch with a cold look on his face before it transformed into a rare expression; he was smiling down at her. Emily straightened up and smiled politely. With open arms, Hotch pulled her into a hug. Emily's arms slowly came around the man's body, holding onto him tight. She spotted JJ over his shoulder, smiling lovingly at the sight.

"It's really good to see you, Emily. I'm glad you're okay."

Emily nodded. "Yeah, it's good to see you too."

JJ let the two of them have a few moments to reconnect before heading over. "I told you so."

"One down, four to go. Not to mention my mother."

"You're on your own for that one," JJ joked, earning a soft laugh from Hotch. "I've met your mother and she scares me."

"Do not even joke about that. Or you can sleep on the couch."

Hotch laughed at their bickering. The secretary looked at them with a distasteful look. "Okay, spit it out. Something is different between the two of you."

JJ unconsciously played with the engagement ring, sitting on her left hand. She had been wearing since Emily had 'died', so her playing with it was nothing new. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for her to behave like that. Technically, their relationship was against the Bureau's rules and policies, even if Emily was no longer a member of the Bureau. There was a good chance that Emily would be reinstated, so flaunting their relationship in front of the Director's secretary was probably not a good idea. She could see Hotch eye off her hands, obviously noticing the behaviour. "It's just nice to have her home."

He nodded and if he didn't believe her reasoning, he didn't object with a soft smile. "I'm sure that's the only reason."

They spent a few minutes briefly catching up, in which Hotch described Jack's first day at school, and officially invited Emily to dinner Christmas night at his apartment; the whole team was going to be there this year. The BAU team hadn't been able to get sufficient time off to leave and visit their families, but Hotch had pulled some strings and had managed to get a three day leave over Christmas.

JJ watched as Emily became visibly relaxed. That was until Strauss walked through the doorway, and the brunette gulped loudly. The Section Chief glared at the three of them as they stood there and she greeted them. "Agent Hotchner, Agent Jareau. _Miss_ Prentiss."

JJ didn't miss the title insinuation and she was pretty sure Emily didn't miss it either. There was a short chorus in response, "Ma'am."

There wasn't enough time for Strauss to make a snappy retort, the conference room door was pulled open, and all four heads whipped around to see the Director of the FBI standing there with a grim smile on his face.

"Come on in," he said. He gave them all solid handshakes and nods in greeting as they entered the conference room, Strauss in the lead.

There was simply one long and handsome, dark oak table in the middle of the room, at least a dozen chairs adorning its edges. The room's occupants were all standing out of politeness. The deputy director was on the far side of the room, an open chair for Strauss next to him. The Attorney General was at the other end, one State Department representative on each side of him. The US Marshall was next to the official on the other side of the table. On the side closest to the door, there were three empty seats in which JJ, Emily and Hotch sat in, the team leader taking the seat next to the Director. The agents and officials took their seats the moment the Director did.

"Okay, so we are here this morning to discuss the events leading up to and following the death of Agent Emily Prentiss, who is," he paused and motioned towards the brunette who had lifted her head at the sound of her name, "apparently very much alive."

Emily began fidgeting again, the table providing her enough cover to play with her fingernails and bounce her knee. Strauss scoffed quietly and upon receiving a stern glare from the Director, adjusted herself in her seat and quietened down.

"Today will also determine the reinstatement of the former agent. Now already, I've discussed the main issue of the situation with the Attorney General and the State Department officials, and I've also taken into account the Marshall's statement. I would however like to hear Miss Prentiss's side of the story."

Strauss was about to open her mouth to say something, but Collin's hand came up to silence her. "From the beginning, please."

Emily looked to JJ, receiving an encouraging smile. "The beginning, sir?"

"When you became first involved in any case pertaining to one Ian Doyle."

"Yes, sir." Emily sat up straighter and laced her fingers together in her lap, her knee still bouncing crazily. JJ was crossed her legs and hoped that no one picked up on the fact that her hand was now resting high on Emily's leg, giving the brunette enough courage to breath in deeply and begin her story. The Attorney General dropped his pen onto his legal pad, and leaned back into his chair, like a child settling in for a good story before bed.

"Eight years ago I was assigned to a task force by the CIA, created to profile the world's worst monsters. It was composed of several behavioural analysts from government agencies around the world, headed up through Interpol. The idea of the task force was to profile terrorists and hand off the arrest to the local departments. The only difference between the task force and the BAU, is that we would use infiltration to gather our knowledge and essentially create the profile. The last case I worked with the task force before moving onto the FBI was profiling Ian Doyle, known terrorist and international arms dealer.

"Initially, he wasn't the target of the investigation. But after meeting him in Boston and using him to get to another arms dealer, Interpol believed that Doyle was the next biggest threat. So he was our next assignment. The thing with Doyle was that he had a type, a female type, he wouldn't just let anyone into his circle. According to our preliminary profile, I was his type. It depended on the case but all of us had gone undercover at some point and this was my turn. I posed as a low key weapon dealer, high end supplies. Nuclear weapons stolen from U.S. soil. To get into his inner circle, I became involved with him under the alias Lauren Reynolds."

"Involved?" asked Strauss.

"Romantically," Emily clarified. She felt JJ squeeze her leg. "He was a high priority, and I had been ordered when I made contact in the early days of the operation, to do what was necessary. If becoming more than a simple work contact, was going to lead to his subsequent arrest, I was to do it. I was involved with Doyle for less than ten months before he proposed. I was sure that he had done multiple background checks, credit checks with clients. I can guarantee that he did. If he wasn't comfortable around me, if he didn't trust me, one: he wouldn't have proposed, and two: he wouldn't have introduced me to his five year old son Declan."

"Were you in love with him?" Collin's asked.

Emily froze and felt JJ tense next to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the blonde lift her head just a little. "Lauren Reynolds loved him to an extent. I don't think she was ever in love with him. I, as Emily Prentiss, despise him. I hate him because he took a part of my life away from me, a part that I will never get back."

Collin's nodded as he took it in. Emily felt JJ relax just a little.

"Declan was Doyle's biggest secret. He went to great lengths to keep him hidden, including having him adopted by his caretaker so he couldn't be connected to Doyle and used against him. He wanted me to leave the arms business and raise his son to be a warrior. I said no. Not long after he introduced me to Declan, he was arrested in North Korea, and I went back to being Emily Prentiss. Although Declan wasn't legally known as Doyle son, I was sent to kill him and his adoptive mother to get Doyle to break under torture two years into his sentence."

"You murdered a child?" Strauss exasperated, clearly outraged at the thought.

Emily flinched at the sound of Strauss's voice.

"Declan isn't dead," said JJ. "Just because there is a photo of Emily pointing a gun at a six year old, does not mean she pulled the trigger."

"What do you mean, Agent Jareau?" Collins asked more softly than Strauss.

"The images are fakes. Declan's death was faked in an effort to protect him. He got on a plane with his adoptive mother and I never saw him again."

JJ watched as Strauss's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "Just like with you?"

"I'm getting to that."

"Continue please, Miss Prentiss."

With permission from the Director, Emily continued her story, trying to keep it as brief as possible. It seemed like it was taking forever and she wasn't sure how much longer JJ's hand on her thigh was going to keep her calm. "As far as I knew, I was free to continue my life as Emily Prentiss after he was arrested. It wasn't until a year ago, that I heard any news about him. I received some news from an old contact at Interpol. Doyle had escaped from a Russian prison and my colleagues from the task force were spontaneously dying. He never knew my real name, I thought I had a chance at being safe. Then I started getting phone calls. There was no one on the other end. After a few seconds, the line would go dead.

"After three weeks, I came home after work one night and there was a purple flower on my doorstep. That was his thing with Lauren Reynolds. Purple flowers. That was when I began to freak out. He knew where I lived. If he knew where I lived, he knew who my family was. He was looking for revenge because I betrayed him. He didn't know I was responsible for Declan. I knew that I had to get to him, before he got to me. So I left."

"You went rogue?" asked Collins.

"Yes sir."

"Now I've seen the footage and read the reports from Boston. You shot a man's ear off and threw a flash-bang grenade into an SUV?"

Emily hesitated. "Yes. The man whose ear I shot off, he was my ticket to finding Doyle. And when I found him, I threw it in there as a distraction. I was only planning to kill Doyle that night."

"An MP5 is a hell of way to kill someone."

"It was the only way I could make sure he was dead. That he would go away and stay away. After the grenade went off, I went looking for Doyle. He wasn't in the car, turned out that he double back. He knew I was there. He called out my name and the next thing I knew, I was landing on my back and there was this burning pain in my chest. Doyle had a pistol and I had Kevlar. I woke up in a warehouse in the back end of Boston somewhere. I was tied to a chair."

"He tortured you?"

"In a way yeah."

"Care to elaborate?" Strauss asked.

"The North Korean's developed a method of tattooing."

"He gave you a tattoo?"

"Without the ink, without something to push under the skin, it creates scar tissue. It is more painful than the process of getting a standard tattoo is."

"What was it and where?"

"A really bad four leaf clover right about here," Emily explained, a long finger landing on the scar beneath her shirt just above her left breast. "He came close to shooting me in the head several times. It wasn't until the BAU team made themselves heard in the warehouse. They found me, and I used Doyle's distraction as an advantage, I was able to get out my restraints and I hit him across the head with a piece of wood. I lost said advantage and he began beating me. I knew the only way I could regain the upper hand, was to get him worked up, get him emotional.

"I used Declan and told him that I was responsible for Declan's death. He got really worked up. And then I told him that Declan was alive and he got even angrier. We heard gunshots out in the hallway, and I became distracted. He managed to stab me with the same piece of wood. Doyle kept asking me where Declan was and I wouldn't tell him. Agent Morgan was coming down the hall, Doyle ran. The last thing I remember from that night is Derek standing over me, telling me to hold on."

Emily let out a shaky breath. "I woke up, I don't know how many hours later, in an operating room. I was pretty drugged up but I could hear the Marshall outside, talking to J-Agent Jareau."

JJ's head whipped around. She hadn't realised how loud they had been. What were the chances the team had heard them talking if Emily had been able to heard them while she was drugged.

"We had a quick conversation."

"And then I told the team that Emily died on the operating table," JJ finished.

"Okay."

"Sir, that's it?" asked Strauss. JJ and Emily looked as surprised as Strauss was.

"Yes," said the Director, with a simple nod as if it was the easiest decision in the world. "As I said earlier, I've conversed with State Department Agents Lawson and Bales, and the Attorney General regarding the events that followed Miss Prentiss's death. Due to the nature of the operation, and yes Chief Strauss, it was an undercover operation that involved faking the death of an FBI agent, specifics will not be discussed. I have the information I need, including the US Marshall's word of what happened. From what I've gathered, this was completely off book."

"Yes sir," one of the State Department officials.

"Agent Jareau was a part of the State Department who was on loan to the FBI during the Doyle case. So her loyalties lie with the State Department whereas this case is concerned. Agent Hotchner, what was your part in all of this?"

"I was coordinating with Agent Jareau. If Doyle was unable to be attained that night in Boston, we had agreed to fake her death if possible. We knew the risks involved, and somehow it all played out to the point where Agent Prentiss was injured severely enough to enter her into the operation."

"You committed perjury."

Hotch nodded solemnly. "Yes sir."

"I see."

"And you were willing to go through with this? A decision of this calibre is being made while you getting beaten, stabbed, and operated on, and you just go along with it when you woke up," said Strauss, as she tried to find a loophole in the story the three agents were telling.

"Ma'am," JJ started, "with all due respect, you don't know Emily."

Collins interrupted the two women before a showdown would happen in his conference room. "Agent Jareau, I'd like to hear the answer to this question."

"Yes, sir."

"Miss Prentiss?"

"I trusted the decision that was made."

"That's not a proper answer. You were willing to go through this? The choice to disappear and leave everyone you know and love behind was made for you."

"I left them to protect them, I had too. If Doyle knew I was alive, and he couldn't get to me directly, he would hunt them down one by one until he got to me. By believing me to be dead, he won; the threat against him was gone, and for added measure, my death would haunt my family. And by following that, it was my safest route to getting to him. I trusted the decision that was made," she repeated.

There was a few beats of silence as it sunk in for the people around the table.

"I can accept that answer," said Collins. "Miss Prentiss, do you believe that you should be reinstated into the FBI?"

That question had floated around in her mind for the past four days, trying to figure out the answer for herself. She paused too long, and the Director had to prompt her to answer the question. Emily took a breath. "I...I don't have an answer to that question, because that decision is yours Director."

"I want your view on it," he countered, leaning forward, testing her.

Now Emily felt incredibly vulnerable. The wrong answer and she wouldn't return to be _Agent_ Emily Prentiss. She would just be Emily. She needed the title. Sighing heavily, Emily caved and answered the man.

"When a witness is moved into the protection program, it is for their safety and that of those around them. When they've completed their task of testifying or giving evidence, they have the choice to return to their life from before, excuse my French but, shit hit the fan, or stay as the person they have become."

JJ stifled a giggle. Only Emily could make a joke at a serious time like this. She didn't stop the smile gracing her features though.

"I would like to be able to return to my life."

"Your life before the shit hit the fan?" the Director asked, earning a series of grunting laughs from the men around the table, and smiles from the BAU agents.

"Yes sir. It's the only thing that I can trust to be there. It's the only thing I have faith in at the moment."

Emily had always had a difficult time explaining her feelings and thoughts to other people, especially ones she didn't know. It was even harder for the people she did know. JJ couldn't remember a time, where the brunette had been so honest to a room full of people who probably only care about what was for lunch later, or how to get back at Hotch for events that had transpired. She was proud of the woman she could now call her fiancé.

Director Collins nodded and sat silently for a few moments. He motioned to the man down the other end. "Attorney General. You are essentially in charge of the Witness Protection Program. What do you think?"

"Sir, if I may?" Strauss interrupted.

Collins politely and silently asked the Attorney General to wait, before turning to Strauss. "No, you man not. Sir?"

"Participants involved with the program always have a choice, to stay in their new life, or to come back to their old one. Almost ninety percent of the time, they choose to return to their old life. And returning to an old life includes work. I see no reason why she shouldn't be reinstated. She was given support by what is essentially the United States government. I practically signed off on this operation, despite the fact that this is all black ops. The State Department provided the funding, to ensure that Miss Prentiss was successful in her endeavours. Up until Agent Jareau returned to the BAU, she was the handler assigned to the case. There is no reason as to why she shouldn't be allowed to return to the FBI. Under what capacity, that is entirely up to you."

Both officials on either side of the man were nodding along as he spoke. Even the US Marshall began moving his head slightly, until Strauss threw a rather harsh glare at the man.

"Deputy Marsden. Your thoughts?"

"I agree with the Attorney General whole heartedly." The younger man smiled encouragingly at Emily.

"Agent Prentiss?" the Director called.

"Yes, sir?" came the automated reply. JJ and Hotch shared a knowing glance behind the brunette. She had been referred to as 'agent', not 'miss'. That had to be a good sign, right?

"You do realise that being reinstated will come with consequences?"

"I do."

"And that all I have to do is sign this piece of paper in front of me and you're back in?"

"Yes, sir." Emily eyed the pen sitting haphazardly across the open folder, almost as if she was willing him to pick it up and cross his signature on the dotted line with her mind.

"Chief Strauss, now you may talk. Agent Prentiss would be returning to your department. What consequences would you suggest? And please speak freely."

All three BAU agents inwardly groaned. JJ's hand squeezed gently and when Emily turned, the blond offered her a wink. She smiled before letting her eyes roam around in search of a clock. It was close to noon. _'Three hours already?'_ she thought, wondering how this meeting had gone by so fast.

Strauss looked as though Christmas had come early this year and she was the Grinch."Demotion from Supervisory Special Agent, to Agent. Probation time of up to twelve months, a minimum of twelve successive sessions with a Bureau psychologist, where she will have to meet requirements that enable her to take field ready tests."

"I agree," said Collins. The Section-Chief looked smug. Her grin dropped when the Director picked up the pen and signed his name with easy. "With everything except the demotion. Welcome back, SSA Prentiss."

He stood to shake her hand, which Emily returned mutely. JJ gave her an elbow to the ribs; everyone had stood out of politeness. "Thank you sir."

"Now I believe this meeting to be over. I however would like to talk to the three of you privately." Collin's gave Emily and JJ a specifically pointed look over his glasses, only changing his attention to shake the hands of the other members of the meeting as they left. "Agent Hotchner, on this side please. Ladies, move up."

Hotch did what he was told without question and took the Deputy Director's seat. Emily and JJ moved one seat closer. Whatever fear JJ and Emily had had removed by the Director's reinstatement of the brunette, had reappeared. The last State Department Official left the room, the door snapping shut with a loud click behind him.

"Now after being made aware of your deception, Agent Prentiss, I asked for your personnel files. Of all three of you." JJ's eyes widened momentarily before closing. "I take it from your reaction, Agent Jareau, you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes sir."

"I have a question for you, Hotchner. Why didn't you reprimand them as the leader of their team?"

Emily genuinely had no idea what he was talking about. She looked at JJ confused. She was met with a quick shake of the head.

"With all due respect sir, they managed to fool one of the best profiling teams in the country for over a year. The only reason we all found out was because they felt it fit, to finally let us in on news. Even our technical analyst, who is one of the best hackers in the world and a best friend to these two women, did not know. She didn't even suspect anything."

Then it clicked. The Director knew about their relationship. The Director of the FBI knew about their relationship; one that wasn't allowed within the walls of the organisation. Emily began panicking silently. She had only been reinstated less than a minute before, she couldn't get fired already.

"Sir? JJ prompted. The man turned his head towards her. "If knew about us, why did you reinstate Em-Agent Prentiss to the BAU?"

Collins smiled and removed his glasses before jumping into his explanation. "I've asked around; departments you've worked with on cases. They all said the same thing. 'That team is basically a family. They rely on each other and work together so well.' In my experience, you need your family to overcome whatever demons may have followed you back from your operation. If that means an inter-team relationship that is against the rules, so be it. Now this stays between us. If word gets out that I actually allowed this, there would be hell."

The two women nodded. "You managed to fool a group of profilers for over a year?"

"Yes sir."

"And nothing ever gave them away?" he asked Hotch.

"At the time, no. After being told, in hindsight, there were probably a few things."

"I see."

"Are we going to get fired?"Emily asked.

"Why would I reinstate you, just fire the both of you?"

"To make an example, to keep control of the Bureau."

"No," he laughed. "You're not going to get fired, but I am going to set boundaries. I would like an off the record report every two months on the status of your relationship from Agent Hotchner. If I find that the two of you aren't keeping your relationship out of the work place, I will be forced to transfer either one or both of you. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," came a chorus from the three agents.

"Very well. Now that that has been sorted, Agent Prentiss, take this to Human Resources, you will need to have your mug shot taken for your credentials."

They stood as he gathered his belongings, handed Emily the signed confirmation, offered a smile, and left the conference room. Emily collapsed back into the chair, and ran her hands through her hair. There was a rather large bout of tension pulled from her shoulders. JJ and Hotch were smiling at each other, giving Emily a few moments to gather herself.

"Are you going to make me say it?"JJ asked Emily with a smile, a few moments after Hotch had left the room. The blonde had knelt down next to her fiancé, her fingers reaching out to brush aside a few strands of Emily's hair.

"Say what?" Emily requested.

"I told you everything would be fine." JJ stood from her position next to Emily, pressed a kiss to her forehead and proceeded to pull her out of the conference room.

Emily let out an amused sigh. "We still have to tell the team."

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><p>Next up: the team frinds out about Emily. Who do you think is going to have the worst reaction? Let me know in your reviews. Peace. Out.<p> 


	6. Author's Note

Okay so this isn't a new chapter, I'm in the process of writing that at the moment. I would just like to point something out. When I posted the last chapter, there was a chunk missing at the end. So that has been updated. Also, I deleted the old Authors Note so the reviews are now a chapter ahead of the number of chapters I actually have. Technically, you guys have reviewed nothing, but give me a day or two and the next chapter will be up. :)

Thanks for the love guys.


	7. Chapter 6

I know it's short, I'm sorry, but would you rather a rare update that is long, or a constant update of shorter chapters. I promise that they will not get any shorter than 2500 a chapter. Also, if you are having some trouble finding the previous chapter, you know, the actual story and not an authors note, just go from this chapter backwards in the chapter select bar.

Thanks for the love, guys, thought I might tease you a little bit. According to my beta, this flows pretty well, and there isn't too much of an abrupt ending. Enjoy ma peeps.

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><p>I was currently hiding in JJ's office, trying to focus on filling out some generic paperwork to update the details in my personnel file, like if I had gained a spouse in the past nine months, or who my current emergency contact was. I ticked 'no' to the first one and automatically scribbled in JJ's name and contact details.<p>

"Not yet," I said to myself. I was quite tempted to tick 'yes' instead, but I thought better of it. I couldn't afford to get fired so early, considering the fresh slate I had been given. Still, I couldn't wait until I could actually tick that box.

My whole day so far had been a messy series of images and words and overwhelming feelings. I hadn't really had the time to comprehend most of it. My ability to compartmentalize was beginning to fail me. I was pulled from my mind when I heard JJ's heels clicking up the hall towards her office. She had gone to get some coffee for the two of us. I could tell she was barely even half way, when there was the oh so familiar clip-clops of Garcia rushing in less than professional hot pink heels scrambling to catch up JJ from the other end of the hall.

"JJ! We have a problem!" If the woman's heels were loud, imagine the volume of her voice as she called out to the blonde. I stood and peeked through the closed set of blinds. Garcia was definitely wearing her less than profession pair of hot pink heels. JJ spotted me through the blinds, and tried to keep a neutral expression. She turned slowly, as to not spill the cups of coffee in her hands, or drop the file folder that was being held under her arm.

"What's up PG?" she asked.

"You mean, you haven't noticed?"

"Apparently not. What's going on, Garcia?"

"Emily's photo is missing!"

"What photo?" asked JJ. We had both been distracted all day, with a perfectly acceptable reason in my own opinion, but even I knew what photo the analyst was talking about.

_The excitement had been replaced with nervousness as JJ and I practically snuck into the BAU department and headed for her office. The team was out to lunch, and Hotch had been keeping an eye on them for us. I only wanted to chance to explain myself in one go, to all of them at once. Having Garcia spot me and faint in the middle of the hallway because she thought she saw a ghost wouldn't help my case any._

_As I waited for JJ to unlock her office door, I looked up the hallway and spotted a maintenance worker checking name plates on the wall of photographs of agents killed in action. He was looking for mine. I watched as he lifted the framed picture from its hook, and gently placed it into a box. He then went onto open his tool box and begin to work on pulling the name plate off the wall. The frame would go to some other agent, and the image would go back into my file, waiting to be used for the day I actually died. I hadn't even heard JJ unlock the door and shuffle in, until she grabbed my wrist and tugged me in._

Garcia seemed hysterical. JJ obviously clicked about what was going on, and I could see her deflate a little. We both knew what that meant; I couldn't hide from them anymore. It was time to come clean. Too bad the boys were still out to their late lunch, or else I would have walked out of JJ's office right there and then, but I didn't want Garcia to pass out. JJ was trying to reason with her.

"Okay. Penelope, calm down!" JJ screeched. Garcia looked taken aback momentarily. "Calm down. When are...Morgan and Reid due bacreachk from lunch?"

I saw Garcia check her watch. "Ten, maybe fifteen minutes. But what does that-"

"Okay, this is what you're going to do. Agent Seaver is supposed to be here at two thirty for a meeting, one that you will be a part of. So when she gets here, I need you to gather the team, Hotch and Rossi included and get them into the conference room, okay? When that is done, can you call me to let me know?"

Garcia went quiet, and her bottom lip stuck out. I suddenly realised just how close the two of them were to the window. "Does this have anything to do with the secrets you have with Hotch?"

I watched as JJ's shoulders squared. She muttered a quick 'yeah, P' and finished the short walk to her office. I opened the door for her when she was close enough and quickly shut it behind her, taking the offered coffee from her. There was a slap of paper meeting the wooden desk top and I flinched slightly. Two coffee mugs made their way onto the desk next to the file

I leaned against the back of the chair, watching as my girlfriend began to pace up and down the very short length of her office. "Spit it out," I said shakily, letting out a breath I hadn't even realised I was holding. I pushed my nervousness aside and let my cocky side take over.

"If Garcia has realised that Hotch and I are keeping secrets, what are the chances someone else knows about you?" She looked really worried, when she stopped to look at me with her arms crossed and hips canted off to one side. "And do not even think of profiling me, Emily Prentiss."

I smirked and reached for her elbow. I pulled her in close, forgetting about the existence of a blind spot on the security camera for this sort of thing. "Baby, I don't need to profile you to know what you're thinking. I know you so well, and I can tell that you are trying to reassure yourself that everything is going to be okay."

"How can you tell?" she questioned quietly, bringing her arms around my shoulders for a hug.

I knew it was hard for JJ, to have the team literally twenty metres down the hall and not knowing that I was here in her office. Alive. Her mind was beginning to wander as to how badly they would react. I had to admit that I thought about the same thing an unknown number of times over the last few days. I had my own predictions but I have been known to be wrong before.

"You're my soul mate, Jen. Do I really need any other reason?" I replied, a dorky grin on my face as she pulled back to determine my seriousness. She giggled, actually giggled, at my expression and kissed me.

"You're a goofball."

"I'm your goofball," I countered, my grin only growing with hers.

"I rest my case," she said, giving one more brief kiss before letting go and heading back around to her own chair. She took a long drawl of her coffee. I ignored mine, and the elephant in the room. I hadn't answered her question about secrets.

"All in a day's work," I replied, cracking my knuckled and taking my seat again. "What's in the folder?"

"I took it from Morgan's desk."

And here comes the next rollercoaster ride of emotions. JJ slumped into her chair slightly and I snatched the surprisingly thick folder from the desk top. I nearly spilt my coffee when I unexpectedly dropped it back onto the table top. My own face was looking up at me; along with the rest of the teams. It was a group photo from the bar the team frequented, taken the night of the single Super Bowl we had managed to celebrate, without being called away for work or parenthood. JJ had been kicking arse all night at darts, and Morgan and Garcia had been tearing up the dance floor. Kind of. I looked up at JJ when Doyle's face sneered back at me from underneath the group photo.

"He's been doing his own investigation of Doyle, since you died. It's helping him cope, makes it seem like he's doing something, rather than doing nothing to find him. He's got Garcia tracking funds and transactions, surveillance footage. The only thing that isn't in there, are the crime scene photos from Doyle's murder." JJ air quoted 'murder'.

"He's going to completely forget about Doyle as soon as I walk through the door."

"I know," said JJ, leaning on her elbows across the desk. "Em, I want to talk to them before you come in. I need to apologise to them for lying, without being interrupted or yelled at for betraying them. I need to get it out before they see you, or they're never going to listen."

I nodded, understanding to an extent. They could blow up at you when they wanted, or just simply ignore you. I could practically see their reactions clearly in my head. Reid would be silent. Rossi would crack a joke, and get Seaver's attention. Garcia would cry. Morgan would yell. But I still couldn't figure out who was going to be the worst one to handle.

The phone let out a rather loud 'bring', startling the two of us. I closed the folder on the desk and watched as JJ tried to get her breathing under control to answer the phone. I checked my watch. It was two thirty.

"Thanks Garcia." JJ hung up and I felt my cockiness disappear, and my nerves reappear. Fuck. "Time to face the music. Give me ten minutes and come up. Use the back door, so you won't have to go all the way around the bullpen."

"Okay," I agreed, nodding. My throat had gone rather dry so I took a gulp of my coffee. That didn't help. JJ rounded the desk, kissing me thoroughly and picking up the folder.

"I love you, Emily."

"I love you too, Jay."

Without another word, JJ left the office, leaving me sitting there to ponder my thoughts for ten minutes. Ten long, excruciatingly slow minutes. I understood why she didn't want me to use the 'front door' to the conference room. The moment I was recognised there would be a severe change in the atmosphere, and one of the profilers upstairs would realise it instantly. By going through the second door, I would avoid the entire open space and have a small hiding area to wait in before I showed myself.

Counting to six hundred evenly seemed like a good idea when I started. I got to forty and gave up; it was taking too long. I tried to focus myself with the paperwork I was supposed to be filling out. That didn't work either. I checked my watch. Seven minutes left. I tried to calm myself down, but without Jennifer here, there was nothing to help me control my soon to be panic attack. I blindly reached for the photo on her desk, turning it around in my hands.

_Henry was three months old and getting fussy. With Will moving out, and JJ struggling with balancing work and raising a child along, I had offered to watch him for a few hours so she could get something, anything done, whether it was paper work or house work. She just needed a break, and as her girlfriend, I felt that I could step in without stepping on her toes. I had changed the little boy, fed him and burped him._

_I was now in the process of trying to get him to sleep. He seemed more tempted at the thought of staying awake to mess with his own sleeping cycle, rather than to simply nod off. JJ had been having some trouble getting him to settle, and had handed him over half an hour ago before she momentarily lost the plot. Apparently walking back and forth across his room wasn't going to do the trick. I lowered myself into the rocking chair in the corner and began the soothing motion of gentle rocking, his pacifier being sucked on greedily._

_Within seconds, he was out like a light. I didn't have the heart to put him in his crib just yet, I was so content to sit there holding him. I must have been sitting there for a while because the next thing I realised, was JJ standing in the doorway with proud smile gracing her features and a camera dangling from her hand. That was the day she realised that there was no way she was ever going to be able to get him to settle without me._

As I placed the photo back down, still smiling at the memory, I stood from my seat and stuffed my credentials into my inside jacket pocket. I smoothed my jacket and pants over, glancing at my watch. One minute left. The journey to the back door of the conference room was the second longest walk I had ever taken. Walking away from JJ in Paris was first.

I had very little confidence, when I walked into the bullpen, that this whole thing was going to end well. No one recognised me as I passed several desks and the break room, spotting a few agents that whose names I could remember. Nine months gone, and I could have been a complete stranger. The blinds were drawn on the conference room windows, blocking out any nosy viewers. I scurried across the last few feet and up the stairs quietly, listening for JJ's voice on the other side of the door. I could hear her talking gently, close to tears, and finishing whatever speech she had prepared.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. We both are, just keep that in mind please."

I was leaning against the same wall the doorway was on. When JJ opened the door, they wouldn't be able to see me straight away. Until I walked in, that is. I could hear Reid and Morgan asking what she was sorry for, and who the other person was.

"JJ, what are you talking about?" Garcia's chocolate God asked.

"This." The door pushed open, and JJ's head poked out, her hand reaching for mine, just to make sure I didn't turn and run in the opposite direction. "Ready?"

"No," I whispered. I took her hand anyway, and stepped into the room, a round of gasps meeting me in my arrival.

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><p>Weeeellllllll? Thanks for reading, please review!<p> 


	8. Chapter 7

Okaley dokaley kids, here you go. Fresh off the presses, the reactions of the BAU team to Emily's return. It's a little different to what I said would happen in the previous chapter. I felt like throwing you all off my trail hahahaha.

Since you guys seem to be loving the atmosphere with Henry, I have a little surprise for you in an upcoming chapter. It will probably be long winded and set on Christmas Day, seeing as the date in this fic is around the 22nd of December at this point. Very fluffy, emotional little piece. That has been in my head for a couple days.

PS, Hereford, you had better get the first review, or I swear I will hold out on an update for The High Life...and smut...but mainly The High Life.

Thanks guys, keep up the reviews.

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><p>She left Emily in her office to fret over the next ten minutes and headed for the bullpen with purpose in her step. For JJ, the walk from her office to the conference room was jaded, and one of the most nerve wracking ones she had ever made in her entire life. She wasn't sure what made so bad; maybe it was the weight of the folder in her hands; or maybe it was the secret that was she was about to expose. She gave a small knowing nod to Hotch when she pushed open the back door to see everyone either getting a coffee or sitting around smiling at something Reid had done or said. The guilt came rushing back.<p>

"JJ, what's going on?" Reid asked, trying to get the spotlight away from him. "Do we have another case?"

"Yeah, Jayj, what's going on? My baby girl basically herded us in here," Morgan chimed in, taking his coffee back to his seat.

Hotch shut the door behind him and took up a position similar to that of a bouncer guarding the entrance to a club. His arms were crossed and he had his familiar worried brooding expression marring his face. JJ shut the door behind her and held the folder to her chest.

"No, no new case. I just need to talk to you guys about something."

"How does that involve me?" asked Seaver.

"It kind of involves an old case, which you were here for," JJ explained, hoping she didn't give too much away. It was obvious that Reid had already made a connection to something; to what, JJ wasn't sure.

"Does it have anything to with Emily's picture?" Garcia piped up.

"Yeah," she paused for a beat, trying to figure out my wording of how she was going to explain this. JJ dropped Morgan's folder onto the table. He recognised it instantly.

"What the hell? JJ did you take that from my desk?" he glared at her, his voice rising with defensiveness. She really couldn't blame him. "That was private."

"I know. But for someone who has been telling me to move on, you're doing a really bad job of it yourself." She didn't sound angry or accusing, but she couldn't stop herself from making the dig at him. It was like she was simply stating the facts. "You were missing a few things though."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" He stood from his seat.

JJ turned to the TV and plugged in a small memory device into the side, before snatching up the remote and clicking a few buttons. Images came up across the screen of a man, tied to a chair and several bullet wounds on his chest. His head was resting on his chest, his identity hidden from the people viewing the screen.

Garcia squealed and covered her eyes, but the rest of the team including Seaver leant forward in their chairs to get a better look. Reid began profiling the person responsible for this man's death; he began profiling the Unsub; he was profiling Emily.

"The Unsub used bullets to distance themselves from the kill, but the shots look like they were fired point blank and are grouped around his heart, so that indicates that the victim may have known them and that it's personal. Tying the victim to the chair suggests a need for control over the situation. The person responsible is probably not that strong physically. It looks like he took quite a beating, so tying him down was necessary so he wouldn't fight back."

Rossi spoke up next. "There is no sexual component to this kill, so that gives the impression that the Unsub is a woman, but there is no indication of remorse so that points back to the Unsub being male."

"JJ, I don't remember a case like this," said Seaver. "There is nothing familiar about the victimology from the cases I worked when I was here."

"How did you get these crime scene photos?" Hotch asked, his expression going just a little bit darker.

In a similar fashion to the blonde 'forgetting' to mention Emily's return to the team leader, she had also left out her knowledge regarding details of his death. She had stared at them countless times since she found out, trying to sort out her emotions about the whole thing. She was glad that he was gone. He was a terrorist and a murderer, but at the same time she was scared for the repercussions it would have on Emily.

"An old contact from the State Department."

"They shouldn't have given you these. It is a serious breach in protocol and confidentiality clauses in regards to case details."

"I know that, but my contact knew that we worked the case the first time."

"Has the victim been identified yet?" Morgan asked, becoming tired with their bickering. His anger was returning.

Finally the question JJ had been waiting for had come up. They were still oblivious to the fact the Hotch hadn't said a word or even joined them at the table. "Yeah."

She pressed another button on the remote, more concerned with the faces and reactions of her family members than the evil one occupying the screen. Rossi gaped. Loudly. Morgan dropped into his chair with a squeak as it tiled back slightly. Reid went quiet, and his eyes became frantic as he sorted through his memory for everything he knew about Ian Doyle, and how his death connected to a previous case. Seaver slumped back, and Garcia was practically leaping for joy, despite her stance on death.

"This is what you were missing in that file. Three weeks ago, Ian Doyle was shot and killed in his Swiss villa. It appears to be a home invasion, by a possible enemy. No one on the house staff was severely injured or killed. Some did have a concussion though," JJ was looking at the floor as she spoke, fiddling with her ring. "Local police have no leads on the suspect."

"How did you get wind of it then?" asked Rossi.

"You think that Interpol wouldn't keep an eye on him. They knew he was responsible for the death of an FBI agent. The news came down the chain of command and then agencies over to me."

"You knew," whispered Reid. "You knew three weeks ago that he was dead, and you didn't tell us."

"Yeah, that's what I really need to talk to you all about," the liaison whispered. Who knew that after all of her training to handle the media and their field of questions, that she would be at a loss for words at any point in her lifetime. "I know these past few weeks, I haven't really been here. I've sort of been off with the fairies, and it's been like that since Emily...died. But there is a reason for that, and that reason involves you all understanding that I'm sorry. You have no idea how hard these past nine months have been, because of this."

"JJ, it's not right for you to put all of the blame on yourself," said Hotch. "I was had a part in this as well. When JJ says that she is sorry, I'm included in that notion.

"I've haven't been entirely truthful since she died, and when I get around to around to explaining what I haven't been honest about, please believe me when I say that I'm sorry. I didn't want to keep this from you but I wasn't here when this all happened, so my loyalty over cases was with the State Department." JJ was close to tears and practically pleading with the five people in front of her. "I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry. We both are, just please keep that in mind."

With her speech over and her points stressed, she placed the remote on the table and headed for the back door to the conference room.

"JJ, what are you talking about?" Morgan asked. His anger over his stolen file was gone by now, filled more with curiosity and fear over what JJ's vagueness was related to.

"This." The door was pulled open, and to the rest of the team, they could tell that she was talking to someone hidden just around the corner. This was the last time Emily would hide from them. She was scared shitless. "Ready?"

Her hand reached out and Emily grasped it, their joined hands now visible to the group. It was her anchor to make sure that she didn't sprint out of the BAU. "No."

Being pulled into the room by JJ, Emily was finally revealed to the team. She was met with a loud chorus of shocked gasps. No one was game enough to speak, and the room had delved into a deathly silence, aside from Emily's brief sorry smile in greeting.

Garcia was the first one out of her chair. The analyst practically ran to the woman, only to pull up short an arm's length away from her. Emily had never been fearful of Garcia, even when she would threaten damage to Emily's credit rating, but at that point in time, Emily didn't think she had ever been so scared. The red head was the first one to greet her, the first one to react. Her response would probably be the worst, seeing as they had had the relationship of best friends, and sisters.

Emily blinked rapidly, trying to get her bearings as the stinging pain settled in across the skin of her left cheek. She was no longer facing the table of profilers, but the wall off to her right. She could see JJ out of the corner of her eye, with wide concerned eyes and a hand over her mouth in shock. Garcia had slapped her. Apparently it wasn't just her computer skills that could do damage. The brunette let out a breath she forgot she had been holding.

"Ow," she groaned. "Fair point, I deserve that."

Without warning, Garcia's arms came up and wrapped her in a hug, her eyes lined with tears ready to spill over. Emily visibly flinched, waiting for the second slap but she was rather taken aback at the sudden mood change. Then again, it was Garcia. Aware that everyone was watching extremely closely, her arms came around Garcia and tightened considerably. She was again thrown off by Garcia's attitude when she pulled back abruptly.

"Emily Elizabeth Prentiss! I am so mad at you right now!" she exclaimed.

JJ thought that her girlfriend sounded like a child, very similar to Henry when he was being scalded for something. She looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with Garcia. She was picking at her fingernails again. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to lie to you guys, or hurt you like this, I just...I needed you guys safe."

As Emily spoke in a slightly hesitant and broken voice, Rossi stood from his seat and in a similar fashion pulled her in for a hug. Their relationship had always been a bond, close to that of what a father would share with his daughter. Emily's father hadn't really been in the picture growing up, and Rossi had never had any children of his own, so they could relate to each other. It had started with the one case that haunted him for so many years. It only strengthened over the years they worked together and was solidified what Emily exposed her history and insecurities to the man.

"I understand why you did it." He whispered in her ear. "Welcome home, Emily."

"Thank you." Emily squeezed her eyes shut, several tears slid down her cheeks.

He nodded with a smile and took his seat, to wait patiently for the situation to unfold, for the details to be explained. He didn't need the details; her reason for doing it was good enough for him.

It seemed that a line had formed behind Rossi. Seaver had risen and stood behind him, and Derek was standing in front of his chair, arms crossed and shaking with emotion.

Emily and Ashley hadn't had enough time to get to know each other, to get to the same relationship that the rest of the team shared with the brunette. But they had been on the way to it. Emily had, in a way, gone out on a limb to get Ashley into the BAU, and made an effort to help her feel welcome. Ashley had experienced so much death at the hands of her father, and never known the victims. Experiencing loss first hand was different than she had expected, she was unsure what to say or do. "I'm glad you're not dead," she offered, with a shrug and a smile.

Emily choked on a sob, trying to laugh. There was a quick hug, before she stepped back to join Hotch and Rossi in her original spot. Garcia still had yet to leave Emily's side, and not one person had taken their eyes off the brunette during the reunion with JJ being the only exception. She had been watching everyone, profiling them the JJ way.

She watched as Derek continued to shake, and Reid's eyes flurried back and forth. JJ could understand both men's issue with the situation. Morgan had been there with Emily was dying. He had had that image of her lying there fading away etched into his brain and floating in his nightmares for nine months. He was at a loss at exactly what was going on. Reid may have had an IQ of one hundred and eighty seven, and eidetic memory, but he had always had trouble with his emotions and how to handle them. He was more scared and confused than ever.

There was no movement for several movements, save for JJ's hand resting on Emily's shoulder in comfort, occasionally moving back and forth. Everyone was waiting for one of the two boys to make a move, a sound, anything. But nothing happened. Morgan was too busy staring, trying to force himself to not cry. Reid was too busy thinking. Nearly five minutes passed until one of them made a move.

Derek's steps were small, unsure with his arms folded tightly across his chest. Derek hadn't cried when the news of Emily's death broke. He hadn't cried at her funeral. It wasn't until three days later when he broke down on Garcia's couch, with Kevin sleeping in the next room. Before that, he hadn't shed a tear since he had, several years before, confronted the man who had molested him as a teenager. He stopped a half a foot from Emily.

She could see the fear swimming in his eyes. His voice broke and the tears dropped. "I watched my best friend die. I held her hand and watched her die. She died." He began to whisper.

"She didn't die. She just needed to hide," Emily replied. "For a little while."

Derek let his hand reach up, his fingers skimming the heated skin that had a red tinge to it from Penelope's slap. It was as if he was testing her; was she real? Was there a chance that this was a dream? The answer to both questions was yes, and somehow the riddle made complete sense to the profiler. Despite having been pretty much jumped on by Garcia, Emily still wasn't expecting the strong arms of Derek Morgan to envelop her so suddenly.

Her head was resting on his shoulder, she was looking at her anchor. JJ hadn't been able to stop herself from crying, as she watched the former partners reconcile. There was no doubt that the entire reunion was going to be emotionally exhaustive to all of them. The blonde still maintained her encouraging smile, despite the fact that her mascara was running.

Derek Morgan was reluctant to let go of Emily, but after a long hug, Garcia had pulled them apart so that Reid could say what he had to say. He wiped his tears with his hand, and wrapped an arm around Garcia. The team of profilers, and the analyst, and the media liaison had formed a half circle around the resident genius who picked up on the feeling he was being watched.

"No," he whispered, looking up the first time to meet Emily's eyes.

"Spence?" JJ asked, while Emily twined their fingers together messily.

"You want me to just accept this?" Reid questioned. As he sat there in his chair, he looked broken, like he had when JJ had told the team she had died. "You left us behind. We tried to help you fight your battle, one that you could win, and you abandoned us. You wouldn't trust us. We're your family and you lied and abandoned us. Families don't just do that to each other!"

"Reid-," JJ tried, but she was cut off by the abrupt movement of Reid standing up and knocking the table. Even Hotch flinched.

"Don't start JJ. You lied as well." Reid's voice had become louder and Hotch was sure that most of the people in the bullpen were listening. "We're supposed to protect each other."

"I did protect you. I did what I had to do to keep my family safe!" Emily loosened her grip on JJ's hand and cautiously kneeled in front of Reid after he dropped defeated into his chair, with his head in his hands. "Reid, look at me," she instructed. He wouldn't comply with her request, so Emily took his hands out from under him. He didn't fight her and finally looked up.

"I didn't get to say goodbye. People always leave me, and I never get to say it."

Emily smiled as a thought came to her. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that you never say goodbye? Saying farewell means that you're never going to see that person again. If you don't get a chance to say that someone you care about, it's okay, because it means that one day you will see them again."

"The probability of that actually being true is extremely small." He couldn't help it, being the genius that he was, and his intelligence took over. Emily laughed.

"Oh I never thought I'd say this, but I missed your statistical rambling." She paused. "I'm sorry that I lied, and that I put JJ in a position where she had to lie to you all every day. But you guys are the most important people in my life. Ever. _He_ would have come after you to get to me, and without a doubt, he would have started with Henry. Either I killed him, or he killed all of you.

"If you want to be mad at me, then be mad at me. I know that I'm in no position to ask anything of you guys, but I'm begging you all to accept the choices that I made. Please." Emily was pleading with the whole team, while still kneeling in front of Reid. It seemed that his anger had grown just enough and he stood up almost violently and left through the door Emily had come in through.

Most of the team flinched at this behaviour and Emily made a move to follow him, to try and explain and understand. JJ stopped her from following him, and Derek offered a smile before chasing after the boy. "Let him go, Em. He needs to figure himself out."

She nodded and gave in, letting JJ lead her to the now empty seat. She was developing a habit of dropping into chairs full of defeat, and she didn't like it.

"Emily, what the hell happened?" Rossi questioned. Everyone had sat back down around the table and was now looking at her with interest. He simply asked what everyone was thinking, save for Hotch and JJ. The blonde knotted their fingers together, in her umpteenth motion of encouragement that day. She figured that she had better start from the beginning. They deserved that much. Her tale would just have to be repeated again to Morgan and Reid.

"Nine years ago..."


	9. Chapter 8

Hey there. A nice long update to make up for the fact that there will be no more until at least the 23rd of August. I really need to update The High Life and for some reason, my muse for Little Charlie Jareau has decided to kick in NOW of all times. Hopes this lives up to your standards. As for the last chapter, I wanted it to be different from peoples expecations because we all know that Morgan would blow a gasket at the news. Reid will be explained later. The next chapter will most likely involve the talk between mother and daughter. And Christmas at Hotch's house.

Also, if you haven't read it, "Scars" needs 10 more reviews in the next 24 hours to push me to write more smut with out favourite ass-kicking, kevlar wearing BAU ladies...with chocolate sauce and whipped cream...maybe a cherry on top...together.

Thanks guys, and onto the family fluff and slight angst!

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><p>She was glad to be at home and be able to sink into the cushioning of the living room couch, to hide out for a little while and to have enough time to gather her wits. It had been a several long days since Emily had been revealed to the team, and the pile of paperwork the brunette had to fill out had done nothing but grow. If she wasn't careful, she would end up with permanent cramps in her right hand. The piles of paperwork hadn't been the only thing to grown since she had returned; the number of times Emily saw the faces of her colleagues paled in comparison to how often she saw their backs. With the exception of Reid, the BAU team had all been thrilled to see that Emily was alive and now that they had had some time to let it all sink in, they had taken to avoiding her.<p>

It was obvious that a few days break would do them all some good, let everyone vent and get it out of their systems. She sighed loudly and took a sip from the glass of wine she was cradling, practically falling asleep with her feet on the coffee table, as the annual Christmas Eve movie switched over from the commercials. JJ was upstairs checking on Henry, who had already gotten up twice since being put to bed in hopes of catching Santa in the middle of delivering his presents. Half-eaten cookies and a near empty glass of milk were sitting on the mantle; JJ and Emily had consumed some only minutes before Henry had woken up for the second time. Emily was sure that she had seen the same scene twice in her exhausted state when the rustling of snug clothing pulled her from her trance.

With a sleepy gaze, she watched as JJ dropped onto the couch, tucking her body under Emily's arm and teasingly snatched the glass of wine, finishing it in one gulp with a smile. "He still asleep?" the brunette asked, taking the glass and propping it onto the side table. She tightened her arm around her girlfriend, fingers tickling the ribs beneath her hand.

"Yeah. Out like a light, thank God. I don't remember him being so hyper last year." JJ's head came to rest on Emily's shoulder, and they cuddled together, both basking in the comfort of the other.

"That's because he didn't understand the whole concept of Christmas last year. He heard the word 'present' and went for the wrapping paper," she joked.

"He still does that," JJ agreed. Her hand slipped from her own thigh to Emily's stomach, and she looked up. "Hey, you okay?"

"Hmmm? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm just thinking about the team, and how much it is going to suck when we go back after Boxing Day, especially if the team would rather me having a conversation with their backs. I don't blame them, it's just..." she trailed off.

"Taking a lot out of you?" the blonde finished. Emily nodded. "They'll get used to it. All they need is time for it to... all make sense. A few days away from the office, the confusion; it'll help the process start moving."

Emily sunk further into her seat of the overstuffed couch and her arm pulled JJ even closer. "I know." Her eyes finally slid shut when there was a slight nip at her jaw line and the feeling of a hand heading south, towards the buttons of her jeans, was clouding her senses. "Are you trying to get lucky again?"

"Like you're complaining," the blonde shrugged, hiding her face once again in the crook of Emily's neck.

"I'm not sure what is going to burn me out first: the team avoiding me," Emily began to laugh, "Or you trying to get some every night. I've been home for seven nights. One week and we've had mind blowing sex every night."

JJ pushed off Emily's arm, and moved to straddle her girlfriend. "Hey, we have over nine months to catch up on."

"Yes, but _every_ night for nine months?" Emily stressed with a playful smirk, and slapping the thighs sitting on either side of her hips. She leaned forward, her hands cupping JJ's arse and squeezing.

Their lips met in a heated kiss, and JJ pressed herself impossibly closer. Her hands dropped from Emily's neck, skimming the restrained breasts and pushing the woman beneath her backwards to rest against the couch, effectively breaking their kiss just as Emily tongue slipped into her mouth. She groaned at the loss of contact and slipped her hand under JJ's t-shirt to feel the taut stomach muscles. Emily's button up shirt was ripped open and the little pieces of plastic hit several other pieces of furniture, exposing the red bra that JJ had become so fond of.

"Wait. What about Henry?" Emily asked, trying to throw a cautious look up towards the stairs.

"He's asleep," JJ kissed her again. "Don't worry."

"But-"

"Emily, shut up. And don't be too loud." When JJ's lips met skin above her breast, her hands also popped open the button on her jeans, sliding down the zipper, all thoughts of the little boy officially leaving her mind.

Bypassing Emily's panties, JJ's fingers slipped into the wetness and flicked her thumb over the suddenly over sensitized bundle of nerves. Hips bucked and there was an obvious attempt to hold back a moan. Fingers pushed in slowly, pulling back out to the first knuckle before gliding back in as deep as JJ could go, the arousal coating her hand strongly. They both groaned at the contact.

Emily pushed her hand past the barrier of the pyjama pants the blonde was wearing, meeting a dripping sex. A lone finger probed gently and JJ gasped. Although she wasn't sure if it was from the muscles clenching around her own fingers or the hand that had snuck into her panties. JJ rolled her hips, silently requesting for Emily speed up and sink her fingers in further. The noise from the TV was just enough to cover their ragged breathing.

Together they found a rhythm that was fast and hard, with several rushed kisses in between, when they weren't too overwhelmed by the growing heat in the pits of their stomachs. JJ's wrist was beginning to cramp at the awkward angle and the increasing force she was having to exert. Emily's arm was starting to sear. They were both getting close; bodies were turning rigid until they came together simultaneously with violent shakes and spasms.

Both of them continued to quiver as hands fell from between thighs, foreheads bumped together until lips met. JJ smiled when Emily's brown orbs came into view as she was coming down from her high. As her back straightened, she licked her fingers clean and fixed up Emily's jeans. As the sweet saltiness hit her tastebuds, she checked the clock; the long hand showing that it had just past midnight.

"Merry Christmas, Emily."

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><p>JJ was barely awake. Her senses were coming back to her slowly. Her eyelids felt rather heavy, so she simply kept them closed, shuffling back into the warmth of Emily's body behind her. She could feel the woman behind her stirring as the arm beneath their shared pillow shifted and the brunette curled around her. After their quick romp on the couch, the two of them had moved the large collection of presents from the garage to the living room before, at JJ's playful insistence, retreated into their bedroom to experience the mind blowing side of their sex life, resulting in only a few hours of much needed rest.<p>

She could hear the bedroom door creak open softly, and the cushioned patter of little feet across the carpet. The bed began bouncing and Emily groaned into the skin of JJ's neck. She was silently thankful that they had remembered to put clothes on before they had fallen asleep the night before. There had been no doubt in JJ's mind the night before, that Christmas day would begin with an early start. A broken sleeping pattern would not deter Henry from waking them at the earliest possible moment. JJ pulled the covers up and over their shoulders just as a childish chant began.

"Wake up! Santa came! Wake up! Wake up, Santa came!"

"Waz goin' on?" Emily murmured, scrunching her eyes.

JJ's head snapped up from its resting place half buried by her discarded pillow. She glared at her son as he jumped up and down on the end of the bed with a humoured smiled on his face. He laughed at their reactions.

"Gee, you'd think that there was some sort of holiday event going on around here," JJ mumbled, as she gave up on trying to relax. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she pushed herself up to lean against the headboard. Emily reluctantly let go of the blonde to allow her to move, and cuddled in to sit her head on JJ's stomach. Together, they watched Henry jump up and down with excitement, fingers running through the dark locks, as they attempted to wake themselves up.

Emily yawned and moved to check the clock. "Five forty-three?" She turned to Henry. "Really? It's not even six am," she complained. Henry stopped bouncing, his face dropping. JJ watched, trying to hide her smile behind a yawn. He would never learn. Emily launched forward, pulling the little boy into her lap for a tickle-fest. His high pitched squeals echoed throughout the room, louder than JJ's giggles or Emily's chuckles.

Henry eventually managed to get out of Emily's grasp and hurriedly crawled into his mother's arms. She wrapped him in a protective embrace as Emily tried to continue tickling him. She collapsed back onto the pillows, with an arm over two of the most important people in her life, a smile on her face.

"Aren't we supposed to do something this morning, buddy?" JJ asked, sitting him up in her lap.

His eyes lit up. "Pwesents?"

Emily laughed into JJ's side at the little boy's enthusiasm. She sat her head in her hand and simply watched them.

"Almost. How about we give Emmy her present first?" the blonde suggested. She was met with a confused and put out look. Henry really wanted his presents, and he had no idea what his mother was talking about. She leant forward to whisper. "Do you remember what we talked about last night when you went to bed? What did you ask me about? What were you going ask her about?"

Now Emily was intrigued. Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember any question he had asked. The night before, when JJ had had put him to bed, she had taken longer than usual to tuck him in, before she would send Emily in to read him his usual nightly bedtime story. That rarely happened in the past, but now he was entering a stage where he had to question everything. Combined with his kind mind and growing intelligence, his need to ask about things could only make it an important topic. Even if he was only three years old.

Emily sat up half way to snuggle into JJ, and her arm snuck back under the blonde's body. "What are you two talking about? I don't need to tickle you again, do I?"

"Henry came up with this all on his own. I had nothing to do with it. He just asked me if I thought you would like it," JJ explained, looking at Emily, whose fingers brushed across her spine.

"What did you want to ask me buddy?" she asked, taking the little boys hand and playing with it when he looked down. "Hmmm?"

"Well, Mama said youse guys are gonna get mawwied. Like the Mama's and the Daddies do."

"Yeah. What do you want to ask me Henry?" She was a little confused.

"Ummm. Can I call you my Mum?"

Emily was taken aback, and. It was the last thing she had expected him to ask. The thoughts running through her head made her think he was going to make her promise to stay, to never leave them. She had always been his Emmy. That was just the role she played in his life and she had never thought or wanted that to change, but this question made her decision. She couldn't help it, but the profiler within her kicked in. Maybe this was his way of making sure she never left them again. Or maybe he just wanted to show how much he loved her. Either way, she was stumped.

"Kiddo, you can call me whatever you want. Okay? And if you want to call me your Mama Emmy, then that is what you call me," Emily said. She smiled at him, out of pride, but mostly to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. Only when she pulled him into a hug, did she let a few slip down her cheeks. JJ managed to wipe them away before her fiancé released Henry from their embrace. "And that is the best present I could ever get. Speaking of presents, I think that it's time to go downstairs and open the ones you got from Santa. What do you think?"

His eyes lit up like the Christmas lights on the house down the street. "Yeah. Huwwy up. Pwesants!"

They laughed at him as he tried to lower himself to the floor, instead of falling from the bed, and sprinted clumsily for the doorway. JJ called after him to be careful on the stairs and they heard his footsteps pretty much halt just out of their view. Emily turned to JJ, rolling her body onto the other woman's, her face covered with a serious expression.

"You knew that was coming didn't you?"

"Of course I did," JJ smirked. "He just wants you to stay. In his head, if that means saying 'I love you' more, or drawing you more pictures, or asking if he can call you his Mum, he will do it in a heartbeat. The love he has for you is so strong. He can't lose you again."

"He's not going to lose me. You're not going to lose me either."

"Well, you're the one that asked me marry you. You're kind of stuck with me now," JJ smiled, pressing her lips to Emily's, only to pull back when they heard Henry yell for them to hurry up. "Come on Mum, we gotta please the boy."

A few minutes later, when they had covered themselves up appropriately with their dressing gowns, and the camera was in Emily's, they found Henry bouncing on his little Transformers couch, waiting comically as he rocked back and forth. He was waiting impatiently for presents to be handed out; there were so many of them sitting under the tree. JJ took a seat by the window, glancing at the snow covered backyard and swing set. Emily handed her a quickly brewed cup of coffee and took a seat on the couch, in the exact same spot she had been in the night before, and started the camera up.

JJ handed presents out to the little boy; from Santa; from his grandparents; a couple from his dad; and a handful from his Mama and Mum. They watched as small piles of new clothes formed next to a junior sized soccer ball and net, Tonka Trucks, a few new story books and knick-knacks. Emily had the camera in her lap, taking photos as he quickly lost his focus on clothes and went straight for the wrapping paper, before moving onto the next gift. His face was scrunched up in confusion when his mother stood a heavy and squishy cylindrical present in front of him.

"What's that?"

"I don't know. You gotta open it to find out," said Emily. She loved his innocence. She wanted him to keep it for as long as possible, and he would. Especially if she had anything to say about it. It turned out to be a play rug with a street map, with roads wide enough for him to fit his toy cars onto. Emily snapped another photo as he snatched up one of his new matchbox cars and began to drive around the carpeted city, trying to mimic the sound of JJ's car to the best of his ability.

The activity of Henry unwrapping his presents took well over an hour, his attention having drifted back and forth between his already opened gifts and ones he had yet to rip the paper off. Once again his focus wavered between his own presents and the small, sapphire blue box hidden by the base of the plastic tree. JJ watched as he would play with bits of paper, and trace the streets with his hands with a smile, until he spotted the last present, before going back to what he had been doing. It was almost as if he was waiting for JJ to hand it out.

"Mama?" he asked, after crawling under the lowest branches to retrieve it and handing it to his mother.

"Oh yeah, that's for Em-Mama Emmy. Why don't you go give it to her?" she suggested.

Henry waddled over to Emily, jumping over the strewn piles of paper and toys awkwardly before thrusting the box into her hands. She thanked him, and he went back to his toys with occasional glance of curiosity. Emily checked the tag on the gift, and then glared at the blonde. Well, the older one of the two in front of her.

"JJ, we agreed on not getting each other gifts this year," she stressed. When they had been wrapping Henry's presents the day before his return, Emily had asked her what she wanted from Santa with a dorky grin. She had replied with 'I got my present early when you came home. I don't need any gifts, as long as you are here'. That had shut Emily up, after she had agreed with the notion of no material items and suggested they focus on spoiling Henry. "You were the one to suggest it."

"I know. But I thought this only seemed fitting. You _kinda_ need this," the blonde replied vaguely.

Emily huffed noncommittally and snapped the tape holding it down on one side, and pulled a deep red box, that contrasted with the wrapping paper perfectly, out from its restraints. Ideas of little pieces of jewellery flittered though her mind. But when she opened the sides, Emily was stunned for the second time since waking up. It was a diamond engagement ring; a subtle diamond was centred with smaller inlays set into a white gold band. She lifted it from its holder to examine it closer. "Jay..."

The blonde shuffled over to lean against the arm of the couch from her seat on the floor, her hand resting on Emily's knee gently. "I need something to keep those crazy women away from you," she joked. She was waiting for Emily to spot the inscription. Henry was too busy playing to notice the exchange between his Mamas.

"What does it say?" Emily asked, finally spotting it when she had brought it up to her eye for a closer look. _11-15-2006. 11-19-2006. Fate._

"Eleven, fifteen, two thousand and six. Eleven, nineteen, two thousand and six. Fate."

"Why those dates?"

"I met you oh so briefly on the fifteenth of November that year. You were standing in Hotch's office looking confused as hell as to why he didn't know you were coming. I actually stumbled over my words when I looked at you. I fell in love with you on the nineteenth when I was ordered to spend all of that time with you. Those hours we spent pouring over policies and rules and procedural notes, were the best I'd ever had. It was like I was fated to fall for you. It was written in the skies, that _I_ would _love you_ forever."

JJ's tone shifted easily from comical to serious to nostalgic as she explained her reasoning with a passion that Emily had only ever seen come from the blonde when she was talking about her son in any sense.

"You can pinpoint the exact day you fell in love with me?" Emily whispered, the ring being toyed with in her hands.

"Yeah. November nineteeth, two thousand and six," she said with ease, taking the ring from Emily and pausing, the piece of jewellery hanging over the tip of Emily's ring finger. "When you walked into my office at about eight thirty in the morning," she laughed. JJ raised an eyebrow at Emily, who simply nodded and the ring was gliding up comfortably.

Emily admired it for a moment. "It's perfect." The shared a sweet kiss that wasn't able to be broken by Henry's engine imitations. "That was also the cheesiest thing you have ever said to me." They laughed and kissed once more, basking in the emotion floating about the room, settling down with JJ's head leaning against Emily's legs.

The clock clicked over to eight o'clock, chiming the necessary number of times. JJ's eyes snapped up, as she realised her dilemma. Not only had she not broken the news to Emily of their brunch plans, she had yet to mention who was going to be arriving at ten thirty for the morning meal. And she still had to fix up the food. Emily had sensed her tension.

"What's going on?" she asked, her fingers threading through JJ's hair, earning a nervous hum in return. "JJ?"

"I really do hate having to burst the bubble we've created this morning, but I need to start getting food ready for brunch."

Emily watched with confusion as she tried to dig through her memory of the previous week to find the knowledge of a Christmas brunch and who it was with. JJ quickly scurried out of the living room and into the kitchen to scan the fridge and pantry with an even faster look in the freezer, pulling out different items all at one. The brunette followed a moment later.

"When was this decided?"

"It was organised before you came back, I forgot. I'm sorry," she exasperated.

Emily had to take her fiancé's wrists to stop her long enough for her to calm down. "Breath, baby. Who is coming?" JJ cringed at the thought. "Jay."

"Your mother."

Her wrists were dropped as if they were on fire, heating Emily's hands to a scalding temperature. In the time that Emily had been back in their lives, a week with JJ and Henry, and barely three days with the team, they hadn't actually gotten around to discussing talking to the former Ambassador. Both Prentiss women had never had the best relationship with each other, but Elizabeth had taken Emily's death harder than anyone had thought she would. She was lost because there was no more time for her to make up for her mistakes as a parent.

"My mother is going to be here in two hours?"

"Two and a half," JJ shrugged sheepishly. She cut off Emily before the older woman could tell her off for forgetting to mention that little fact. "She became attached to Henry after you died. She thought that he was her last connection to you. She may have not been very supportive of our relationship when you were still here, but it was like she had the world's biggest epiphany when you were gone. It was almost as if being there for Henry, to tell him all about you, would begin to make up for her shortcomings as a mother."

Emily stood stock silent as the words sunk in. This was going to be worse than Reid blowing up in face to the power of five hundred. Essentially, she was fucked.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, I honestly forgot that she was coming over today. I swear." JJ stressed, trying to take Emily's hands again. She was brushed off.

"I'm going to go and clean up the mess in the living room, have a shower and get him ready." Emily's voice was neutral, but JJ could feel the coldness coming from her in waves. She tried to apologise again. "It's fine, JJ. I just need to vent a little, sort my head out before she gets here."

Without another word, Emily left the kitchen with a garbage bag in her hands and seconds later the scrunching of scraps being shoved angrily into the bag could be heard. In total silence, Emily walked through the kitchen and down to the garage to sit the trash down there until later when she more weather compatible clothes on. She kept her head down as she walked back past JJ and headed up the stairs for her shower.

The next hour was spent in silence between the two women, only broken by the sounds of chopping or stirring, or Henry's toys and imitations in the living room. Emily had gone down and back up the stairs half a dozen times during those sixty minutes, having showered and dressed in record time, dressed Henry and taken most of his presents up to his room, such as the piles of clothes and the small toys.

JJ had tried to ignore the sounds of her footsteps on the stairs, chopping with just enough force to drown them out. She understood that it had to be frustrating for Emily, for having to go back and explain to everyone what happened, telling her story over and over again and again. She could understand Emily's hesitancy to tell that story to her mother, but it had to be done. Elizabeth Prentiss was the last one to find out about the whole thing, and if Emily didn't choose to do it herself, it would probably never get done.

There was less than an hour left until her future mother-in-law was scheduled to arrive. She was never late and never early; always right on time. Emily walked into the kitchen with a smart shirt and dark slacks on, her hair freshly washed and straightened and very little makeup on. Her arms came to wrap around JJ's waist, pulling the blondes body into her own.

"I'm sorry for snapping earlier," she whispered, her chin resting on the shoulder in front of her.

"It's okay, Em. I get your frustration. But you have to admit that if you could get away with never having to confront your mother about this whole thing, you never would," JJ explained, turning the heat down on the homemade soup before shifting to face Emily.

"Yeah, I know." Emily sighed and willingly accepted the kiss JJ was offering. "She's going to kill me."

"She's gonna have to get through me and Henry first."

"When she gets mad, she looks for revenge. Maybe it would safer for you if you played dumb. Say you didn't know and I just turned up a couple of days ago."

"No!" JJ exclaimed. Her tone was strong and unwaivering, unwilling to bend to Emily's request. She spoke softer. "No. I'm not going to hang you out to dry and watch from the sidelines. Did you suddenly forget that I was in on it too? We do this together."

Emily nodded in submission and pulled JJ closer. They stood together in a comfortable silence, the issue between them having been resolved. JJ could feel the tension in Emily's body slowly begin to leave her muscles slowly. Emily was using the strength JJ had found in a faraway place that she mustn't have known about, because every time she had gone soul searching, she had struggled to even simply identify any semblance of strength within herself.

"Go on, you can say it," Emily said.

"Say what?"

"Those four little words you've been telling me all week."

"I love you too?" JJ asked, faking her confusion_. She wanted to hear Emily say it; maybe it would make a difference to her mentality._

"You know what I'm talking about. Don't play coy with me."

"What words?" she asked, still playing dumb.

"'Everything will be fine'," Emily said.

JJ could see a change in the brunette's eyes as the words finally sunk in despite the many times is had been repeated over the last week. It was as if everything suddenly made sense, like a light bulb had gone off in her mind. She smiled smugly as the realisation came over Emily's face. "It's good to know that you think that."

"You tricked me."

"It was for the greater good. My turn for a shower," she said, giving a gentle pat to Emily's ass, checking the soup and leaving it to boil, and turning on her heel for the stairs.

She huffed with an expression of understanding, and gratefulness. Sometimes, Emily just needed a push and JJ was always there to push or shove; whatever Emily really needed. That was the reason she loved the blonde. Well, one of the reasons anyways. There were too many to count and name, and Emily was sure that if she were to attempt it, she would lose track and repeat some.

She took a seat in the loveseat, watching Henry play innocently. She snapped a few photos while she waited for the hour to wind down. He had been bathed, after Emily had showered, and dressed in a neat brown polo shirt and jeans. His socks were either on backwards or upside down. Emily wasn't sure which it was seeing as he had put them on himself. Henry's hair had grown and when he whipped around to smile at her, his mop of blonde locks followed a split second later. He giggled and jumped into Emily's arms for a quick cuddle, followed by a rather large yawn.

"You are going to be so tired by dinner time," she said. He sat up in her lap, another yawn ripping through his little body.

"Nu-uh!"

"Maybe you should have a nap before we go to Uncle Hotch's."

"But-,"

Emily was sure he was going to say something about wanting to play with all of his Christmas toys, to figure out which were the best ones, but he didn't have time to respond. JJ came flying down the stairs, her socks nearly slipping on the carpet, in Emily's deep red shirt and her favourite slacks, her hair up messily with no makeup on. Emily had to restrain herself from drooling on the three year old in her lap.

"Come on buddy, Grandma's here."

"Grandma?" Emily asked from the couch. Henry bounced off of Emily's lap and hurled himself in the direction of the front door, running into it merely seconds after the bell rang.

"Don't ask. You want to stay here?"

"Yeah. I'll come into the kitchen in a sec."

JJ nodded and pressed a kiss to Emily's temple before chasing after Henry to stop him from opening the door. He had recently begun to try and open the door without waiting for JJ to see who it was. From her seat in the lounge, the sound of the lock snapping open and quick greetings floated through the house to meet her ears, and the worst possible scenarios ran through her mind for the umpteenth time in the past two hours. There was a shuffling of bags as JJ helped Elizabeth with the armfuls of presents and Henry jumped up and down around them, like a pixie on a sugar high. It was now or never.

Emily came to stand in the kitchen doorway just as JJ had finished explaining that she needed to discuss something with Elizabeth urgently. When the older Prentiss finally realised that there was someone standing in the doorway, JJ had already circled the centre island to stand next to Emily. With her hands in her pockets, she spoke up, effectively getting her mother's attention, and for the first time in her entire life, rendering the woman speechless. Her coming out didn't count.

"Hey Henry, why don't you go and get one of your new toys to show...Grandma?"

He was gone in a flash and Emily had yet to break eye contact with her mother. She had never seen the familiar brown eyes so confused. As an Ambassador, Elizabeth Prentiss had always had her eye on the metaphorical prize, the next posting higher up on the political ladder. She knew what she wanted and how to get there. But now, the emotions her mother was showing were so alien like to the woman.

"Hi."

Three steps to cross the room, and there was a loud smack echoing throughout the kitchen. The stinging heat in Emily's left cheek was more severe than the slap Garcia had welcomed her home with. The deafening silence took over as soon as the echo's had stopped. Holes were being bored into the side of Emily's head as Elizabeth glared at her daughter.

They hadn't heard the shuffling in the living room that was Henry trying to pick out his favourite toy stop, and the little boy running back into the kitchen only to halt less than a foot behind Emily, flinching as Elizabeth's hand made contact with Emily's cheek fiercely. His face scrunched up and he dropped his toy to the floor with a muffled thud. Until Henry ran into the kitchen and directly into his grandmother's legs, no one had even taken notice that he had been watching.

"No!" he yelled, his little body basically ramming the legs he ran into. No one would hurt his mum, not if he could help it. He was staring angrily at the older woman, his head tilted back to meet her gaze as she stared back. JJ tried to pick him up to carry him back into to the living room, but the damage had already been done and he fought his mother's grip. "No!" Forfeiting the staring contest he had started with Elizabeth, he turned and hugged Emily as best he could.

"Come here," she whispered, picking him up successfully and leaving the kitchen. She could hear JJ beginning to explain the whole situation as Henry's arms tightened around her neck. Her mother would have to wait for her explanation and personal apology as she tried to settle the now distraught toddler.

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><p>Too fluffy? Too angsty? What was your favourite bit? R&amp;R thanks!<p> 


	10. Chapter 9

Sorry it took so long to post guys, serious muse issues and Rush has come back on TV so until CM is back on our screens, I'm obsessing over that like crazy. Some really good story arcs and ideas. Thanks for the kind words for the last chapter, I thought Henry being protective would work really well to convey just how much Emily was missed. He's three years old and understands that something is hitting the fan. Okay so this chapter, picks up right after the end of chapter 8 and focuses mainly on the Ambassador and Emily and how they are feeling rather than the words they use despite the fact that there is a reasonable amount of dialogue.

I think I may leave the 'getting married' talk with Elizabeth until the next chapter, as a little anectdote from JJ and Emily over dinner. However the next chapter will revolve around christmas day at Hotch's place focussing on Reid and may even be in his POV, I haven't gotten that far yet.

Again thanks for the reviews and encouragement, but with the length of the chapters for The High Life, I'm not sure how I'm going to go update this one. I will try. **Also to the reviewers who do not have accounts, I can't actually respond to you until I post the next chapter, just be aware of that as to why I'm not answering. And I'm only up to chapter 9.**

**ONLY 6 MORE DAYS LEFT!**

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><p>Emily would have preferred her mother to have a stone cold stoic expression, like the one the Ambassador used in her political meetings, purely because it was more familiar and therefore more welcoming to the younger Prentiss. Instead, when Emily walked back into the kitchen, she saw JJ out of the corner of her eye wearing an encouraging albeit unsure smile, and her mother going through a rainbow of emotions and expressions one after the other on a continuous wheel. It would be a while before said wheel actually landed on one specific feeling, and that scared Emily.<p>

Sooner than both Emily and JJ thought possible, it seemed that Elizabeth had collected her initial thoughts and decided how she should feel after only a few minutes in shared silence. Mother and daughter were more alike than either of them gave each other credit for. Her back stiffened as Emily's hunched, recognising the posture and sighing in defeat. The Ambassador was doing what JJ had seen Emily do so many times; putting up her walls in defence because she didn't know how to deal with the situation immediately. She need to process and there was only one way she could do that.

Without a second word, Elizabeth Prentiss turned on the heel of her shoe and headed for the front door, her pile of presents for Henry and JJ forgotten as they sat calmly on top of the island bench top. Yep, Elizabeth and Emily were more alike than they would like to admit. Emily felt psychic almost as she watched her mother slam the door behind her with sad eyes, having foreseen the reaction play out in her mind a million times in a few measly hours. Her deep brown orbs found JJ attempting to put on what looked like a sympathetic grin but the blonde was failing to pull it off properly.

"Go." JJ's voice was calm and firm; Emily recognised the motherly tone and the pointed finger aimed for the front door. She succeeded in grinning this time.  
>"Do I need to physically push you out the door? Emily, if you do not chase her, she will not come back and she is your mother."<p>

There was only one thing Emily heard in her fiancés demand, and that was desperation. She had seconds, if that, before official driver for the Ambassador would start the engine and roll her mother out of her life for good. It felt like an act of revenge, Emily knew all about those and she hated them with a passion. A quick decision was made to forego her shoes as she left her fatigue with JJ and sprinted for the door and down the path covered in a thin layer of melting snow.

She shivered and cursed her haste, wrapping her arms around herself to keep whatever body warmth she had. From her spot just behind the garden gate, Emily gazed up and down the street, looking for the usual black extended Cadillac. There was no way her chauffeur would have gotten them away so fast in a heavily packed residential street with Christmas traffic. It seemed as if the battle was lost for Emily, until she was ready to turn back inside after checking both ends of the street one more time. She did a double take and saw a woman hunched over her steering wheel on the opposite side of the street. It was the dark hair that gave Elizabeth away.

Emily was shocked to see her mother anywhere near the driver's seat of a car, positive that the Ambassador didn't know the steering wheel from the radio and the carburettor from the ratchet that was no doubt in the boot. She tiptoed across the street waiting for the car to speed off and most likely run over her toes as it went, but it never happened. It was a day of firsts for the younger Prentiss. She had never seen her mother drive, or ever seen her cry. Elizabeth turned to look out the window, her eyes rimmed with redness and tears marring her face.

After a few seconds, Emily opened the door of the BMW and knelt down next to the driver's seat. She took her mother's hand with slight difficulty. "You're still here."

Elizabeth huffed a laugh, "Yeah, my bag is still inside. Next to the bag of presents. With my keys in the front pocket."

"I didn't know you could drive," Emily commented lamely.

"There are a lot of things you didn't know about your mother, Emily."

"Like the fact that you can slap really hard? Well I know that now."

Elizabeth took in Emily's face, actually seeing her, for the first time in over nine months. She had grieved the loss of her child, dying just a little bit more each day as the mask of her profession slid into place. The Ambassador had sworn that if she could have had just one more chance with Emily, she would be a mother for her daughter. Although she was a few years late; her little girl was all grown up, with a job, a house, a family. She automatically became defensive, because Emily was the woman she never came to be.

"I am not going to apologise for slapping you. The gesture barely holds a torch to the pain I've felt since your apparent death."

"I don't want you to apologise," Emily sighed. "God, I sound like a broken record these days. I just need to say that I'm sorry. I need to explain myself."

"Yes, you do!" Her mother snapped. Elizabeth snatched her hands back from where they were being gripped by Emily's. "I want to know why you felt the need to be the hero again. Every time something goes wrong, it's always you who has to shoulder the blame. It's always you who gets hurt. But this time, your heroics have gone too far Emily!"

Emily stumbled back in damp socks when Elizabeth pushed herself out of the car angrily, desperately. She wanted to embrace her child, something she hadn't done since Emily was a small girl. She wanted to slap her again, but at the same time she couldn't bring her arm up; it was too heavy.

"How about we go back inside? I'll tell you whatever you want to know, stuff that I haven't even told JJ yet, or the team."

"Your BAU team knows that you are alive before your own mother does?" Elizabeth glared. Was she really that out of sync with her daughter that her own child would leave her till last, to tell her that she was actually alive?

"They were there. Derek watched me die. JJ knew she was going to lose me, Hotch too. Reid confided in me and the next thing he knew, I was gone. Garcia lost her best friend."

"And I lost my daughter!"

"You weren't even at the hospital that day."

Elizabeth shrugged and tried to brush off the comment. "I was overseas, finishing out a posting in Europe." Her gaze faltered under Emily's heated gaze when she spotted the front door opening, JJ coming to watch their fight but not participate. The younger Prentiss followed her mother's gaze, finding JJ's comforting form picking Henry up after he tugged on his mother's pants. Something stirred within her.

Emily wasn't going to stop there. Emily was angry with her mother, for trying to put all of the blame purely on Emily's shoulders, for trying to slither away unscathed now that the shit had hit the fan, for not being honest about her feelings, and for never being there during the important times of Emily's life.

"Growing up, you were never there, especially after Dad left. You were too absorbed in your work to see me graduate from high school, and from college. You weren't there to pick me up when I fell down after my father walked out the front door because he couldn't handle you anymore. So why should you have been there when I was on my death bed, huh?

"My _family_ sat in the waiting room in some Boston hospital for nine hours until JJ came out and told them that I died on the operating table. You're always overseas, you're always working. Hell, you weren't even at my goddamn funeral. Were you overseas for that too? What were you thinking? 'Ahh, it's just another major event in my only child's life. I can afford to miss it, I'm sure that there'll be more.'"

Emily sank to the curb and rested her head in her hands, bony elbows digging into her knees; all of this explaining and arguing was exhausting her. Her mother crossed her arms and flattened herself against the now closed driver's side door as a family car drove past. More silence settled between them, the only sound being the low rumbling of Christmas traffic from the streets around them.

"I couldn't bury my only child," Elizabeth whispered. She was barely loud enough to be heard, and her tone was full of defeated honesty. Emily's head whipped up from its resting place in her hands to stare curiously at her mother. "If I was at the hospital when JJ announced that you had died, I wouldn't have been able to cope. If I had been there to plan or simply attend your funeral, it would mean that you would have been gone for good and I didn't...I wasn't ready to accept that."

"Well it's a good thing you didn't go then," Emily joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I may not have shown it when you were growing up, but I do love you Emily. That's why I retired a few months after your funeral. That's why I started offering to help JJ on occasion, to spend time with her and little boy you loved...sorry, love so much. I thought if I could help protect him from the harshness of the world, I would be making up for my failures as a mother."

There were tears in both women's eyes.

"You didn't fail as a mother," Emily stood from her cold, wet seat. "You just, I don't know, you taught me how be strong, and protect myself and how to fight for my family. It wasn't exactly a conventional upbringing, but you didn't fail. It was what you taught me growing up, and what I learnt on my own that made me leave. If I didn't, it would have only been so long until he came after you. We may not always get along, and we're usually on opposite sides of the fence, but as difficult as this is for me to admit this, you're still my mother."

"I'm going to need some time to process all of this. You understand that don't you?" Elizabeth nodded along to her question, as if the shaking of her head added visual emphasis to her need. She was always stone cold, and had a hard time expressing true self, as Elizabeth, instead of Ambassador Prentiss.

"Yes, Mother. I understand. I'd be a little worried if you _didn't_ need any time to process it." Emily had been easily flipped back into one of her old habits, picking at her fingernails as she explained her feelings. She chuckled nervously, unsure of which path they would take now that they had gotten several of their problems out in the open. "Since you left your keys inside and JJ's been slaving over a hot stove most of the morning, why don't you come back inside and watch _your grandson_ go crazy over the wrapping paper on the presents you got him?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Elizabeth whispered. Emily turned on the spot, heading for the house thinking that her argument with her mother had turned out to be a rather productive one, compared to the ones they used to have that only went in circles. Three steps from the front gate and she was called back. "Emily?"

She couldn't feel her feet properly anymore. "Yes?" It took her a moment to fully comprehend the feeling of her mother's arms wrapping warmly around her thin frame. She had never really one of those hugs that parents give and are supposed to be filled with magic that could rival a bogeyman and rid her closet of monsters and make her feel that everything was going to be okay. Especially not from her own mother..until now.

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><p>Too much cheese on the ending?<p> 


	11. Chapter 10

Okay so I know I usually apologise at the beginning of every chapter because of how long it takes, just please accept an apology now for all of the future chapters I write because no doubt it will take me a while between posts. Honestly I've been feeling like shit lately. I've had a chest infection, a head cold, had all four wisom teeth removed so I am in a world of pain at the moment but somehow I managed to spit this out in a matter of hours. Also my heart is broken because Jack Kenney creator of Warehouse 13 killed off Mrs Fredric, Jinksy, and most importantly HG Wells. Oh and he destroyed the warehouse.

So this chapter touches on Christmas Day an the confrontation with Reid. Note: ideas and phrases have been borrowed from episode 2 of season 7 because honestly, in my mind, it couldn't have been written any better. Although it has been changed around to fit in with Emily instead of JJ.

PS How good have the first three episodes of season 7 been? Episode 1 and 2 specifically.

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><p>By an unofficial albeit common definition, Christmas Day is a time to spend with the family and friends you love, to feast on platters of food and thoughtful exchange gifts. It is a day considered to be relaxing and carefree and is supposed to contain no stress whatsoever. And that is true...if you are a child who still believes in the magic of Santa Claus. For an adult however, it is the complete opposite ninety percent of the time. There is the stressful time of shopping for presents, wrapping them and then hiding them so the kids don't know that their parents are actually Santa, of setting up the kitchen to accommodate the hours of visitors that no doubt will arrive, the weeks of cleaning because there are always a few bits of wrapping paper hiding in plain sight.<p>

That is what it was like for the family of profilers and lone technical analyst, with an added bout of tension thrown into the mix as well, as they all sat down in the living room of Aaron Hotchner. Reid had refused to meet the eyes of JJ and Emily from the moment they entered the apartment; he was still silently fuming over their betrayal of the team, but he wasted no time in greeting his Godson playfully. The two women and the hyper three-year-old were the last to arrive at the family event, being swarmed with warm hugs. Henry disappeared almost instantly with Jack, to check out the older boys own toys and JJ yelling after them to not make a big mess.

As Hotch offered them both a glass of wine each and disappeared into the kitchen, an awkward silence settled in over the remaining members of the team. Garcia was cuddling up to Morgan in the corner of the three seater. JJ and Emily had taken the remaining space next to them; neither of them had been game enough to sit next to Reid as he pushed himself as far into the corner of the two seater as he could. It was as if just being in the same room with them was suffocating him, and simply causing the tension to build dramatically. Hotch returned a moment later with two more glasses and a full bottle.

As he went about opening the new bottle, he turned to the newest arrivals. "So how was your Christmas morning with Henry?" Even though it was a pretty straightforward question, all Emily heard was 'how did brunch go with the Ambassador'. It was like he knew that Emily was going to be tortured earlier in the day, but at the same time he didn't know.

"Yeah, it was good. He went straight for the wrapping paper as usual," JJ laughed, taking a sip of her wine. "Just a nice quiet family morning."

"Yeah until my mother showed up," Emily joked, as she swallowed a rather large gulp of her glass.

Derek let out a hearty laugh, knowing full well that Emily's relationship with her mother was strained beyond belief. "And how did that work out for you?"

"Oh it was great," she replied sarcastically. "Especially when she found out that you guys knew I was alive before she did. She slapped me, Henry became rather defensive, and then we had an argument out in the street because she left her keys in the house."

"That's gotta hurt though," said Garcia, sympathising with Emily's mother for the betrayal and Emily for the slap. "Wait, Henry became defensive?"

"Yeah, he saw Elizabeth slap Emily. We all thought he was still going through his new toys. He yelled at her for hurting Emily," said JJ.

"Aww, that is so adorable, and so sad at the same time," Garcia said, raising a hand to her heart.

"If you think that was bad," JJ started, "You should have seen her face when we told her..." JJ looked at Emily briefly with a questioning expression. They had yet to really discuss their engagement with each other, to talk about when they would tell everyone and how. Emily's mouth quirked into a silent shrug of agreement; they were having one of those conversations without actually saying anything.

"Told her what?" Garcia asked impatiently.

"That we're...getting...married," Emily trailed off. She had never been ashamed or embarrassed about herself in anyway, but there was something rather difficult about telling the team of her impending nuptials.

The tech analyst was on her feet immediately, shoving her own glass into Derek's hands and pulling the two women to stand for a hug. "Oh my God! I need details right now! Who proposed? How? When? Does Will know?"

"Baby girl, calm down. How about we start with a 'congratulations' first?" Derek suggested, smiling proudly at JJ and Emily, pulling them into a warm hug. He pulled back jokingly. "How did your mother take it?"

"She almost fainted," Emily admitted with a laugh.

There was a small round of smiles and congratulations from the three other people sitting in Hotch's living room; Rossi had been unable to make it due to a previous engagement with one of his ex-wives. Not all of the praises were happy ones. Reid had muttered the single word with venomous sarcasm, not bothering to lift his gaze to theirs when he spoke. Both women chose to ignore it, and the rest of the group didn't comment on it.

Garcia was practically screaming. "Congratulations. Now give me the deets!"

Emily and JJ had never been ones to be open or to brag about their relationship with each other, or with any of their previous partners, but when it came to telling the team the specifics of their engagement, it felt like such an intrusion to their personal space. Garcia would have worked one of them over until they caved, and neither one of them would have minded, but Hotch was there. No one, not even their boss gave away details such as that. Derek would have simply made a crude comment about needing a new wingman to pick up women.

In the corner, Reid huffed loud enough for everyone to notice. They were definitely not giving away any specifics now.

"Spence, is there something you want to say?" JJ asked. She was fed up with his attitude despite the number of times she had apologized to him, despite the number of times Emily and Hotch had apologized to him. It seemed like nothing would bring them over.

"Yeah, there is. She betrays us all, comes back from the dead after we mourn for her, and you just let her back into your life like nothing happened," he whispered harshly. He didn't want to risk the boys hearing them yelling on Christmas day. "She's back for less than a week and you're already engaged, for Christ's sake!"

"If you want to be specific Reid, we've been engaged since the day she died."

"Ahh, my chocolate God, that is so romantic," Garcia whispered, having sat back down with Derek.

Hotch disappeared back into the kitchen for two reasons. One, to check on the turkey and two, to make sure the boys were staying in Jack's room. He ducked back in momentarily hoping to defuse the possible situation. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." JJ, Emily and Reid weren't paying any attention as Derek pulled Garcia out of the living room to help Hotch finish setting already crowded table.

"Alright I get it Reid," said Emily. "You hate the way it was all handled. You hate the fact that you couldn't tell that I was really alive, because JJ and Hotch managed to hide their expressions from you."

"No, all they managed to hide, was you. I trusted both of them, that is the only reason they were able to hide anything from me," he snarled. The harsh attitude didn't suit Reid at all. "Tell me, JJ, have you told Emily about all of those nights I showed up at your house crying because I didn't understand how to deal with losing a friend? All of those times, not once did you have the decency to tell me that she was alive!"

Emily risked a look at JJ to try and understand just how much had gone down after her death. The blonde had stood up from her seat in Emily's lap, trying to show more confidence than she really had. It was true that Reid had showed up at her house, late at night with red rimmed eyes. She hadn't been able to turn him away, even though she feared she would spill her secrets. "I couldn't."

"You couldn't or you wouldn't?"

"No, I couldn't!" she stressed.

"If I had started taking Dilaudid again, would you have told me then?"

JJ stumbled over her words at the accusation, and fell back onto the couch. "But, you didn't."

"Yeah, well I thought about it," he replied, before stalking off down the hall.

"Spence, I'm sorry, alright."

He turned and shrugged at her, "It's too late."

Everyone knew that a confrontation had been on its way, they just hadn't expected it to be on Christmas day, let alone for Reid to admit he had contemplated risking his sobriety due to his overwhelming emotions.

"Yo Reid! Where are you going?" Derek called out.

"To say goodbye to Henry and Jack," came over the Doctor's shoulder. "I'm leaving."

Emily shook her head and stood from the couch, to chase after their resident genius. "This is ridiculous."

"Hey Prentiss!" Morgan tried, and failed; she brushed him off before he had barely finished calling her name.

She caught up with Reid swiftly and easily, seeing as he had purposefully slowed his pace to give himself enough time to calm down before facing the two boys. It had already been a miracle that neither Jack nor Henry had come running down the hallway to one of their parents, frightened of all of the yelling. Emily however beat him to it, and dragged him through the first door she came across. She had managed to close it without making the latch sound, before Reid could even form a sentence. It was only when he managed to get his balance back, did he actually speak.

"Emily!"

Her voice was quiet and casual, but at the same time he could hear the anger laced with her words. This was the steely faced Emily Prentiss that he had come to know and occasionally fear. He knew he had stepped in it big time, but Reid was unwilling to bend to his feelings of being deceived by his family.

"Don't be childish. I've apologized over and over. Just accept the fact that I'm not dead and be happy about it. Stop picking fights because you were left out. You have no right to dump your ideas of losing your sobriety onto JJ's shoulders. You have no idea how guilty she feels about your addiction in the first place. It was my choice to leave. So please just accept it," she pleaded with him. He simply glared at her.

"I know that you're mad at us, and I'm not going to try and make excuses for the way we handled it. I understand your anger and frustration at none of us telling you. But if you walk out of here tonight, before the night is finished, and you believe only one thing any of us have said, let it be this: 'When I tell you we had no choice, I mean it.'"

He looked away with a slight sense of guilt and shame. Coming from Emily, the friend he had lost and cried over, the friend who was really alive and making his emotions even more difficult for him to comprehend, it just made it all that more real.

"You mourned the loss of a friend, Reid. I know how that feels," she said. Reid looked up to see her strong facade gone, leaving her with an emptier expression. "But I mourned the loss of six, the loss of a fiancé, of a child, a home. I lost everything. I'm just trying to get it back, but I can't do that if you don't help me."

Silence consumed them, and Henry could be heard showing off his engine sounds in Jack's room.

"So now you need my help?" he threw out. Almost immediately, Reid regretted it; he saw her shoulder's slump just a little bit more. All JJ, Emily and Hotch had done was respect his wishes of needing space and time. Or at least given him as much as they could despite the limitations of their desks being next to each others at work.

"Reid, you're family," she breathed out. "I'll always need your help, with something, anything. Right now, it's this. I made my choices and I have to live with them until the day I die. Now, you have to make your own choice right now. Either you stay or you go."

And with that she walked out of the room that appeared to Hotch's bedroom. Her head popped around the doorjamb of Jack's room and spotted them playing with some cars and trucks, completely oblivious to everything going on. "Are you guys having fun?"

Their heads whipped around to take in the sight of the older woman watching them, of Jack's dad's bedroom door slipping shut and their Uncle Spencer shuffling around behind her. Henry was up from his place and running to Emily as fast as he could, jumping into her arms the moment he reached her. "Mummy! Jack has the most bestest coolest toys ever!"

"Oh he does, does he?" Both boys nodded incessantly. "Well maybe you can tell everyone all about them during dinner. Which will be ready in a few minutes, so you need to clean up Jack's toys and go wash up okay?"

Henry struggled down from his mother's arms and hurried back over to Jack to help him put his Matchbox cars back into the container and haphazardly folding the map they had been playing on up. Within seconds the box was pushed back into Jack's closet and the two of them were speeding into the bathroom to use the small set of steps to reach the sink.

Reid mumbled under his breath, barely loud enough for her to hear, but she still heard it. "I think I'll stay."

"Okay." Her voice was a hush above a whisper but they had come to an understanding.

The two of them finally allowed for their eye lines to meet. "You won't push me?" he asked with uncertainty.

"I won't, neither will JJ or Hotch. Not if you make some kind of effort."

Reid simply nodded and followed Emily back out into the living room, Henry and Jack running ahead of them. They were barely halfway to the dining room when they heard Derek yell out, "Soups on, kids!"

Due to the smaller size of the table, both kids had to sit at the coffee table after their parents had dished up their meals. A Christmas cartoon was playing on the TV, keeping them occupied.

"Is everything okay?" JJ asked Emily as they made their way around the kitchen for last minute necessities.

"Not even close," the brunette admitted, "But it's will be eventually."

"Alright. I believe you," JJ smirked, pressing a chaste kiss to her fiancé's lips.

"Hey, my lovely love birds, hurry up! You still have to give me the details," Garcia pleaded with them.

They chuckled at their resident tech analyst's usual behaviour, and went to head into the room, the smell of food wafting throughout the apartment teasingly. JJ pulled back suddenly, her eyes wide in realisation. "Can we maybe leave out the fact that I was wearing nothing but a sheet when you popped the question?"

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><p>Well how did you like it? I felt it was a rather productive chapter with an adorable moment in there as well.<p> 


	12. Chapter 11

Time to meet JJ's parents and they have a surprise for their only grandchild. Alas, chaos ensues. There will be a smackdown at some point and I've got a few ideas formulating in my brain. I would have updated earlier but I think I've gained another obsession.

There has been no more 'borrowing' from the writers of CM, so I'm kinda proud of myself. We'll see how the rest of this story goes hahaha.

I also received some wise words about a few factors in this chapter from my beta which took me like a week to actually listen to, so thanks for that igor!

Enjoy!

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><p>In the weeks following the Christmas debacle, as it had been dubbed by Garcia, things seemed to have shifted considerably closer to normal, to a degree. It meant that Emily was able to sit at her desk and have an entirely innocent conversation with Reid about the worsening holiday weather and their love for old foreign films without getting ignored or glared at over the divider separating their spaces. It meant that JJ was able to ask for help finishing the remaining consultation reports she had to finish in order to assume the rank of profiler within the tight knit group. It meant that Garcia and Derek could leave the confines of their respective offices in hopes of having a quick coffee and a chat or head out of the office for an hour to grab lunch at the local cafe.<p>

Unfortunately, as only Emily could, the brunette had managed to find a downside to her return. Strauss had taken to frequenting the BAU bullpen more often, or even walked past the heavy glass doors with her nose buried in a case file pretending to read the notes scribbled on its pages, just to catch a glance of the living dead. Luckily, Emily hadn't had to have been too worried about the Section-Chief. Garcia had taken to leaving the security feeds of the bullpen and hallway outside up on one of her screens, to keep an eye on her family and make sure that she wasn't hallucinating at the sight of the brunette, sending a quick buzz to Emily's computer every time the older agent was heading their way.

It was a freezing day in mid-January when Hotch finally removed himself from his office to officially congratulate JJ for finishing her profiler studies and relieve her from her position of media liaison, showing a rare smile as he praised her ability to write up reports so quickly. Especially fast for a rookie. Emily smiled proudly at her fiancé, as the blonde blushed deeply at the sudden increase in attention she was receiving. Derek had suggested they head out for lunch to their favourite cafe, an out of the way restaurant hidden in the nook of an alley, that it was his shout. Rossi and Hotch had declined; the former quoting something about feeling like a grandpa around the younger agents, while the team leader explained he had a few meetings where attendance was mandatory.

Derek and Garcia had practically begged Reid to join them in their celebrations, but their requests were politely declined when he complained of his in-tray growing rather radically over the few previous days, and had decided to forego his breaks in an effort to complete the continuously growing pile. He managed to note that Emily and JJ's trays seemed rather empty compared to his, and it only added to his confusion. Derek turned to face JJ and Emily with a questioning look, as they waited patiently for Garcia and her chocolate god to finish pestering Reid.

"I didn't do it," Emily stated simply, before turning on her heel and pulling JJ out of the bullpen.

Reid called after her, curious to know what she hadn't done, while Morgan told him not to worry and to get back to work with a laugh, that they would bring him something back.

"He doesn't know that half of those files covering his desk are yours, does he?" he asked, shrugging on his coat before helping Garcia into hers.

"No," she joked. "More than half are Emily's."

"I like it," the now blonde Penelope Garcia commented, taking Morgan's offered arm. "You two are evil."

"No, he is just gullible with things like that," Emily smirked playfully. "We'll help him when we get back."

And that was what sparked the conversation that would occupy the group on their way over to the parking garage; they had decided to take two cars rather than one, opting for two SUV's over Garcia's convertible. The SUV's had better heating systems, simply put.

JJ had barely sat down and reached for her menu when her phone began buzzing from the depths of her handbag. Emily's hand was resting casually across the top of JJ's chair, her thumb tickling a spot a few inches below the blonde's neck, as she took turns considering meals with Derek and Garcia.

The blonde was used to the device going off continuously and during all hours of the day. But as of this morning, a weight had been removed from her shoulders she was no longer responsible for wading through piles of case requests, liaising with local forces and media, and being the one to console the families. Apparently someone didn't get the memo that those tasks were no longer in her territory.

JJ gaze wishfully at her menu as she dropped it onto the table top. "Jareau."

_"JJ, it's Reid,"_ came through the receiver. _"You have some visitors here waiting for you."_

"Visitors?"

_"Yeah, they arrived about fifteen minutes after you guys left."_

"Did you get a name? Or what they want?" she asked, turning to stare Emily. Her hand reached out to squeeze her leg gently. Garcia hadn't taken notice of the conversation she was having on the phone, but Derek had.

_"No, they said they wanted to surprise you but,"_ he trailed off, his voice becoming weaker as if he were turning to look over his shoulder at JJ's mystery guests.

"But what, Reid? What is your intelligent mind telling you at this point in time about who they are?" she questioned. To be honest, a nice lunch with her fiancé and a couple of friends seemed like a wonderful idea; she really didn't want to have to drive all the way back into Quantico after only having sat down.

_"My intelligent mind is making me see a degree of resemblance between them and you, and considering how old they look, I think they're your parents."_

JJ choked suddenly on the sip from the complementary glass of water she had taken, and had Emily rubbing her back as a few other patrons turned to look at them. Garcia finally took notice of JJ using her phone. "Can you repeat that please? Just so I can make sure I heard you correctly."

_"Your parents. I can give you a more accurate description if you like,"_ he suggested, excited at the prospect of something to distract him from the cycle he had created over the years at analysing and writing up consultation reports.

"No, that's okay. Ummm. Alright, tell them I'm on my way," she sighed heavily into the phone, her eyes closed. The other three were looking at her with cringe worthy looks, waiting for the call to end so they could ask if they had to return to work so soon. As soon as she had hung up, her head hit the table with a dull thud.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked quietly, still rubbing JJ's back soothingly. "Jay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. Great even," the blonde replied strongly, standing from her seat and going for her coat and her bag. Emily was slightly taken aback at her partner's tone and abrupt movement. Derek and Garcia looked at each other with raised eyebrows and then went back to their menus. When JJ looked up to see the questioningly dejected look on Emily's face, she apologised with a sincere smile before continuing sarcastically. "Sorry. According to Reid, my parents are in town."

Similar to JJ's reaction, Emily spluttered and coughed for a moment. Derek let out a chuckle as Garcia looked on.

"Yeah," JJ said, "So now I have to go back to BAU and find out what they want."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Emily asked, ready to go at a moment's notice.

"No, it's ok. After everything you've been through in the last ten months, I think I'll save you from my parents," JJ smiled. She pressed a kiss to Emily's lips, "Stay here and have some lunch. Just bring me and Spence some later."

And with that, as Derek and Garcia watched on slightly confused as to why JJ was saving Emily from the blonde's parents, JJ shrugged on her heavy coat and disappeared out the door. It was no secret between the two of them that JJ's relationship with her parents was fractured, but the rest of the team didn't know.

Ever since JJ had told them about her relationship with Emily, which had escalated from friendship to something more barely a week before John Cooley was murdered, they had refused to acknowledge the brunette as having a positive impact on JJ's life, on making their daughter happier and being the one that she thought completed her. Most of the time, George and Mary Jareau refused to acknowledge her point blank, going on to make a comment about a lovely man they knew through their local church group and how their Little Jenny should quit her dangerous job to move back home, find a man and settled down to raise Henry. Emily would usually let the comments slide; choosing to keep her mouth shut for JJ's sake.

After a family dinner with her parents the year Henry was born, using the rare weekend she had off to introduce her parents to their grandson, JJ had come out to her parents, expecting the responses of confusion and arguing protests. With tears in her eyes, she had packed her sleeping son into his car seat close to midnight and shoved her bags into the boot of the car, preparing for the five hour drive back to Virginia, uninviting them to Henry's christening as she went. Her father had practically forbade her from leaving at the late hour, begging for her to wait until the morning. Her mother called her a sinner, and her action's immoral and how they would end up hurting Henry, so JJ had sped away from her childhood home with no intentions of returning.

In the three years since then, they had only talked a handful of times on the phone, wishing JJ a happy birthday. They had only met in person for Henry's birthday parties, where more comments were generally made under ones breath, and Emily felt forced to put on a polite smile in front of the little boy's grandparents, just so they wouldn't know how badly their words stung.

"What was that all about?" Garcia asked, going back to her menu. "I'm not going to have my fingers work their magic am I?"

"You would do that to your best friend's parents?" she deadpanned.

"Yes," Garcia replied slowly. "If said parents hurt my best friend in anyway."

Emily chuckled. "No, your fingers can relax. Her parents...just...kinda hate me." She finished her sentence hurriedly, diverting her gaze back to her own menu. She checked her watch. It had only been all of forty six seconds since JJ left. It was going to be a long afternoon.

"Why do they hate you?" Derek asked.

Garcia protested his choice of words. "Not why my sweetness, but how could anyone hate our dear Miss Prentiss."

Both of them turned from each other simultaneously, and then back to Emily.

"They think I've corrupted their grown up daughter," she said, answering her partners question with added emphasis on a few of her selected words.

Derek agreed with her comment almost immediately, but Garcia didn't. "If anyone is doing the corrupting, it is my lovely gumdrop. I've known her for eight years and she can be a bad influence when she wants to be."

"Don't I know it," Emily sighed, as memories ran through her mind.

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><p>JJ had made it back to the BAU in record time, receiving a curious look from the guard manning the entrance post when she showed him her credentials. Scenarios were running through her mind as to why her estranged parents would be showing up at her work place unannounced. Her first thought was that something was wrong, that her father might be sick. Her second thought was that they were going to perform an intervention in the middle of the bullpen, to the shock and amusement of her peers. Her final thought, as she pushed open the glass doors to see Reid keeping her parents occupied with cups of coffee in the break room, was why she didn't take Emily up on her offer to return to work with her.<p>

"Mum? Dad? What are you guys doing here? Is everything okay?" she asked. It was the only sane reason the blonde could come to, that something must be wrong.

"Not even a hello?" Mary asked, pulling JJ into a weakly returned hug.

Her father followed with a gruff smile and a 'hello sweet heart.'

"Thanks Reid," she said to him. He nodded pleasantly and took his coffee back to his desk. JJ's gaze never left the Jareau parents as he walked away. "Uhhh, hi. Now, what are you doing here?"

"We wanted to see Henry. We thought we could bring him a late Christmas present," George explained. "Gave ourselves a reason to come and visit you."

Both of her parents were retired, her father a steel mill worker and her mother an elementary school teacher.

JJ was quite confused. "But you sent him presents in the mail. He opened them at six am on Christmas morning."

"We got him another one. One that might last a little longer than the rest of his toys," Mary smiled. "One of our neighbours from down the street, you know old Mrs. Talbot, well her old dog had a litter of puppies, and there was one left that she couldn't find a home for."

"What did you do?" JJ asked, scared for the answer that was coming.

"We got him a puppy dog!" her mother squealed. JJ's mouth simply dropped. "Isn't that great?"

"You did what?" JJ screeched. The half of the bullpen that was closest to the break room, turned to look at her. She sighed and lowered her voice. "You got my son a puppy? You-"

"Look, I know this is unexpected," George tried to start. He had always been the more rational one between himself and his wife.

"Unexpected? You know the limitations my job creates. Half the time, it's hard enough to find a sitter for Henry who is able to take him over night. Thankfully, his grandmother is more than willing to watch him and spend time with him, and his father can take him on the off weekend. But I cannot ask for her or him to take on a dog as well as a three year old. I can't ask Garcia to take a dog, especially an untrained on when she lives in an apartment. I mean, did you even consider that? You didn't even consult me about this."

To say that JJ was pissed, would have been an understatement. Her anger towards her parents rivalled that of what she had felt for one Ian Doyle.

"Do not talk to us as if we are children, Jennifer!" her mother hissed. "We are your parents, no irresponsible youths."

"And you forget that I am a grown woman, with a demanding job, a growing son, and a loving fiancé."

"Fiancé?" Mary asked. "Have you been dating some boy without telling us? Did you finally give up that Emily character for good?"

JJ looked on outraged. Some things, such as George and Mary's sincere dislike for her girlfriend, would never change.

"Look, why don't we talk about this in your office," George suggested, wanting to take themselves out of the spotlight they had created, lighting up the air around them as they stood in the middle of the BAU break room. He wanted to

"I don't have an office anymore."

"What happened? Did you get demoted?"

"No, I'm just...I'm no longer the media liaison for the team. Garcia handles most of that from here, I handle it when we're out in the field but I'm a profiler now. I don't have an office, I have a desk," she explained, her anger dissipating slowly before she remembered her mother's comment about Emily.

"Why would you want to give up your office?" Mary asked.

"It comes with territory, I had no choice," she sighed, one hand came to rest on her hip, just above her gun, while the fingers of her free hand pinched the bridge of her noise.

"Honey, you look a little stressed out," her father commented, letting a hand rest on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"It's this job! The amount of pressure that rests on her shoulders in ridiculous," Mary replied to George. She was about to go on to say that with Henry getting older, it was time JJ retired from the Bureau and headed back to her small town home, but she was interrupted before she could even start.

"Don't change the subject here! No I didn't give up that Emily character. She is my fiancé. Yes I'm stressed out, but at this point in time, it has nothing to do with my work. But this is not a conversation, or argument, to be having in the middle of my work place." Both of her parents looked stunned; this hadn't been the way JJ wanted to reveal her upcoming nuptials with Emily to her parents. "Where are you staying tonight?"

"We were hoping with you," her father said expectedly.

"No, not tonight." JJ was forceful with her answer and they looked at her with shock, as if she had grown two heads. "Look. You caught me off guard. The guest room is full of toys and I need to talk to Emily about this. You can't just spring this on me, and expect us to drop everything to accommodate you. I will get Garcia to find you a hotel for the night."

She began to walk away, reaching Reid's desk and taking a handful of files angrily before she turned around to face her parents. JJ used her best authority tone, the one she had learned from her time at the State Department, when she was bossing around the junior agents. "And get rid of that damn dog!"

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><p>Enjoy!<p> 


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